1 


ec 


eoa 


19  20 


rma 
J 


^^e  Decatur  ^lan 

Book  Number        .^)49 


*~»~-*~.-.~,-,-,.^^,..^..^^^.,„ , , ....... . .  ....^ 


0 


L  I  B  k  A  R  V 


MYRON    HL-Vr  ARCHITECT 
*-"*  '^'"■■E'ES,  Calif. 


UNIV.  OF  CALIF.  UBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 

UBflARV  GF  A3Ci;iT£GlUtt£ 
AND  ALLIED  ARTS 


.1* . 

.HA  as: 

I?        ■     - 


tr  i,i 
>   •  a.' 


,1 


Date  Due 


mm  OF  AmnEcmt 

''NO  ^iUED  ARTS 


i\.Mr       ■'i' 


¥ 


X 

;  Q    - 


'^rJ/ 


-a 

c 


u  J?^. 


^N-») 


> 


•\*'  t,i 


m 


k 


a 

0 


M 
C 

i 

0 


3 
0 

a 
E 


c 
12 


"The  City  Practical" 


The 
Decatur  Plan 


Made  for  the 

City  Plan  Commission 

of  Decatur,  Illinois 

By 

Myron  Howard  West 

of  the 

American  Park  Builders 
Chicago 


Published  by  the 

Association  of  Commerce 
1920 


CTX^"  HIS  book  is  published  bij  Ihe 
\\)  Association  of  Commerce,  The 
expense  of  making  the  City  Plan  was 
defrayed  from  a  fund  contributed  by 
Decatur  citizens  at  the  suggestion 
and  solicitation  of  the  City  Plan 
Commission,  a  committee  of  the 
Association  of  Commerce      '^     '^ 


Copyrighted  1920.  b>j  the 
Association  of  Commerce.  Decatur 


Si     o 


CONTENTS 

Page 

FOREWORD 19 

LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 23 

INTRODUCTION    25 

THE  CITY  OF  DECATUR   i2> 

THE  MOTIVE  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  PLAN   41 

STREETS    47 

Curved  Streets   51 

Railroad  Diagonals 53 

Alleys   55 

Special  Street  Corrections   56 

Street   Furnishings    63 

Street   Lighting   65 

Street  Paving 66 

Street   (Ornamentation    66 

SPECIAL  STREET  CORRECTION    56 

The  Widening  of  Broadway  from  Prairie  to  Wood       56 

Street  Changes  in  Connection  with  Civic  Center 56 

Southwest  Boulevard  and  I'mposed  Street  Arrangement  in  X'icinity  56 

Wabash  Right  of  \\'a.y   56 

Connection  of  Jackson  and  Warren  Streets ^7 

Widening  of  Mason  Street ^7 

Van  Dyke  Street   57 

Garfield  Street   57 

Grand  Avenue 57 

Union  Street 58 

Edward,  Woodford  and  Se\-enth  Streets 58 

Fairview  Avenue   58 

Oakland  Axenue 58 

Orchard  Street 58 

Cerro  Gordo  Street 58 

Dunham  Street 59 

Center  Street  Extended  West 59 

Suggested  Plotting  Northwest  of  Monroe  and  Garfield  Streets 59 

Johnson  and  Olive  Streets 59 

Replotting  Land  Contiguous  to  the  Proposed  Factory  District 59 

Division  Street 60 

Calhoun  Street 60 

William  Street 60 


8  The  Decatur  Plan 

.^■>»»^»»«-<.^.^»»»»-»-»"»-»"*"»"*"«"»"»"«"»"»' '»■■•■■•■■•■■•■■•■■>■■*■■>'■*■■*■'•■'»■'*■'•"•"•"•■■••••■••"•"•"•■••■••"•"»"•"•"••••"•"•"•"»-»♦. 

Page 

Diagonals  Along  the  C.  H.  &  D 61 

Replotting  of  District  Southeast  of  Wood  and  Seventh  Streets 61 

Arrangement  of  Streets  North  of  Golf  Club 61 

South  Section  of  the  Circular  Boulevard 61 

INDUSTRIES    67 

The  Proposed  Factory  District 70 

Scheme  of  Arrangement   71 

THE  RAILROAD  PROBLEM  77 

Elevation  of  the  Wabash  Railroad 85 

Relocation  of  St.  Louis  Division  Over  the  Kansas  City  Line 87 

Relocation  of  the  St.  Louis  Division  Over  the  Illinois  Central 87 

Railroad  Crossing  Elimination 90 

Tables  of  Estimates  of  Alternate  Railroad  Projects 92 

The  Union  Station  94 

Freight  Yards  97 

Summary  of  Railroad  Change  Benefits 99 

STREET  CAR  AND  INTERURBAN  TRANSPORTATION 101 

Proposed  Comprehensive  System  of  Street  Car  Lines 104 

Discussion  of  the  Economy  of  the  Plan 105 

Interurban  Lines 106 

Station  Facilities 106 

ZONING  PLAN   107 

Heavy  Industrial  Zone 110 

Light  Industrial  and  Warehouse    110 

Light  Industrial  and  Commercial 1 10 

First  Residential   110 

Second  Residential 110 

Park  Zone 112 

Cemeteries    112 

HOUSING    115 

PARKS    121 

Types  of  Parks   123 

Parking  Plan  for  Decatur 127 

Interior  Parks 130 

Johns  Hill 131 

A  Farmers  Headquarters   131 

Central  Park 132 

The  Boulevard  System   134 

School  Parks 134 

Park  Design  136 


The  City  Practical 


Page 

SCHOOLS   137 

High  School 141 

Junior  High  School 142 

Pugh  School 143 

Oakland  School   143 

Riverside  School   143 

Ulrich  School   144 

Gastman  School   144 

Roach  School ...  145 

Warren  School 145 

Jasper  School 145 

Dennis  School   145 

French  School   146 

THE  CIVIC  CENTER  147 

Post  Office   Site    149 

Central  Park  Site 151 

Washington  Street  Site 153 

Civic  Center  Plan   155 

CARRYING  OUT  OF  PLAN   157 

CONCLUSION 165 

APPENDIX— ILLINOIS   ZONING   LAW    169 


PLANS  AND  DRAWINGS  FOR 
DECATUR  CITY  PLAN 

Page 
GENERAL  PLANS 

Map  of  the  City  of  Decatur  and  Surrnuiiclings Preceding     33 

General  Plan  for  Improvement  and  Extensions Preceding     49 

Map  of  Zoning  Plan  for  Decatur Preceding  113 

Plan  of  Main  Thoroughfares Preceding     S7 

Map  of  Street  Car  System Preceding  105 

Interior  Street  Changes Preceding     59 

Chart  of  Existing  Thoroughfares   52 

RAILROAD  MAPS  AND  PROFILES 

Present  Railroad  and  Street  Car  Map  of  Decatur 80 

Railroad  Plan,  Showing  Proposed  Changes 84 

Proposed  Arrangement  of  Railroads  Passing  Through  Decatur 96 

Proposed  Freight  Station  and  Teaming  Yards 98 

Profiles  of  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  Showing  Change  of  Grade 88 

Profiles  of  Proposed  Wabash  Belt  Line 86 

CHARTS  OF  GENERAL  DATA 

Building  Density  Chart 45 

Present  Arrangement  of  Types  of  Develoijment Ill 

Zone  of  Influence  Chart 37 

Wind  Chart 74 

CIVIC  CENTER 

Perspective  of  Proposed  Civic  Center 160 

Plan  of  Proposed  Civic  Center 150 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Detail  of  Curved  Street  Treatment 54 

Typical  Quarter  Section  of  Rectangular  Plotting  for  Factory  District  72 
Typical  Quarter  Section  of  Rectangular  Plotting  for  Residence  Dis- 

'trict ' 50 

Diagram  of  Growth  of  P(i[)ulatii m 36 

Chart  Showing  Estimated  Decennial  Increase  in  Area  of  Decatur.  ,  .  39 

SCHOOL  CHARTS 

Chart  of  Existing  Parks  and  Schools 140 

Arrangement  of  Typical  School  Block 135 

PARKS 

Re-design  of  Fairvievv  and  Dreamland  Park 124 

Re-design  of  Central  Park 133 

Perspective  of  Impounding  Reservoir 3 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Park  Avenue,  Decatur,  111 64 

Railroad  Shops  and  Industrial  Plants  Along  Wabash  Railroad 70 

Factory  District  Along  Wabash  Railroad   81 

Another  Mew  of  Factory  District  Along  Wabash  Railroad 82 

Wabash  Railroad  Crossing  at  James  Millikin  University 8.i 

The  Chinese  Wall  of  Decatur 85 

Illinois  Central  Right  of  Way    90 

Passenger  Stations  at  Decatur   94 

Congestion  of  Tracts  at  Wabash  Station   95 

Pennsylvania  Freight  Station  and  Surroundings 97 

Business  District  of  Decatur  as  Viewed  from  Aeroplane 112 

Neighborhood  Store  in  Residential  Section 119 

Along  the  Sangamon   126 

Stevens  Creek  Territory   127 

Wood  and  Meadow  Along  Stevens  Creek 128 

Beautiful  Native  Forests  Near  Decatur 130 

Johns  Hill,  One  of  Decatur's  Landmarks 131 

Aeroplane  View  of  Central  Park 132 

Decatur  High  School  and  Junior  High .  142 

Scant  Room  for  Play  at  Decatur  School 144 

View  Along  Jefferson  Street   154 

Overlooking  Site  of  Proposed  Civic  Center 155 

Site  of  Proposed  Civic  Center 156 


DECATUR  CITY  PLAN  COMMISSION 


In  the  month  of  April,  1<)19,  the  Citv  Plan  Co 
appointed. 


mmission  was 


PERSONNEL  OF  COMMISSION 


W.  F.  Hardy,  Chairman, 

W.  C.  Field. 

C.  H.  Beane, 

H.  R.  Gregory, 

Robert  Mueller, 

H.  D.  Warner, 
Mrs.  Guy  P.  Lewis, 
Mrs.  Delia  P.  Gushard, 
C.  A.  Ewing, 
H.  L  Baldwin, 
F.  M.  Meridith, 
George  A.  Williams, 
L.  Swisher, 
H.  C.  Schaub, 
W.  C.  Casey, 


M.  L.  Harry, 

M.  C.  Nelson, 

Mrs.  R.  D.  Wood, 

F.  H.  Johns, 

Mrs.  J.  D.  Moore, 

Mrs.  R.  L  Hunt, 

Dan  Dinneen, 

j.  j.  Alaloney, 

William  H.  Collins, 

A.  H.  Cope, 

R.  J.  Monroe, 

J.  M.  Clokey, 

Mrs.  L  J.  Bender, 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Patterson, 

C.  M.  Borchers,  ex-officio. 

R.  J.  Holmes,  Secretary. 


LIST  OF  SUBSCRIBERS  TO  DECATUR  CITY  PLAN 


Millikin  National  Bank- 
Citizens  National  Bank 
Decatur  Railway  &  t-ight  Co. 
Wm.  Gusharcl  Dry  Goods  Co. 
Dr.  W'm.  Barnes 
H.  Mueller  Mfg.  Co. 
National  Bank  of  Decatur 
Morehouse  &  Wells  Co. 
E.  L.  Harris 
Mrs.  Guy  P.  Lewis 
American  Grain  Co. 
C.  G.  Powers 
Orlando  Hotel 
Jos.  Michl  &  Sons 
H.  D.  Warner 
Decatur  Ice  Cream  Co. 
Decatur  Lumber  &  Mfg.  Co. 
Wait-Cahill  Co. 
Elliott  Commission  Co. 
Scovill  Furniture  Co. 
Pierce  &  Caldwell 
Dan  W.  Tait 
R.  C.  Augustine 
Bohon   Clothing  Store 
E.  E.  Barber 
Dr.  C.  M.  Jack 
Dance  Bros. 
Leon  &  Morris 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  R.  Stanton 
Shellabarger  Estate 
Dan  Dinneen 
Baldwin  &  Carey 
Cadillac  Co. 
Vade  Conklin 
T.  W.  Boruff 

Decatur  Cornice  and  Roofing  Co. 
Davidson   Bakery 
G.   R.  Eschelman 
Sam   Malleos  Confectionery 
Spell  Bros. 
E.  W.  Armstrong 
Mrs.  Inez  J.  Bender 
Princess  Confectionery 
C.  H.  Beane 
James  K.  Dovekas 
James  D.  Johnson 
G.  P.  Calfas 
John  F.  Mattes 
American  Ice  Cream  Co. 
Sam  Burstein 
Blakeney  &  Plum 
Mrs.  J.  D.  Moore 
Bright  Bros. 

Decatur  Model  Laundry  Co. 
Donald  E.  VVillard 
Folrath  &  Folrath 
A.  Kaufman 
H.  I.  Baldwin 
H.  Post  &  Sons 
H.  S.  Gebhart 

G.  S.  Lyon  &  Sons  Mfg.  Co. 
J.  S.  McClelland  Grocer  Co. 
Ed  Drobisch 
Osgood  Dry  Goods  Co. 
Farmers  State  Bank  &  Trust  Co. 


Mrs.  A.  P.  Hunt 

Mrs.  M.  W.  Fitzpatrick 

Frank  Curtis  Co. 

Field  &  Shorb  Co. 

W.  L.  Shellabarger 

W.  F.  Hardy 

L.  Swisher 

Decatur  Drug  Co. 

J.  E.  Freeman 

C.  J.  Tucker 

H.  D.  Greider 

J.  M.  Clokey 

Benson  Creamery 

Chambers,  Bering  &  Quinlan 

Decatur  Grocer  Co. 

Decatur  Tent  &  Awning  Co. 

W.  C.  Starr 

C.  G.  Starr 

J.  J.  Moran 

R.  W.  Heady 

John  L.  Bennett 

Guy  Parke 

Royer  &  Schlie 

Schudel  Bros. 

R.  S.  Bohon 

F.  M.  Dickinson 
Aschauer  &  Waggoner 
Emerson  Piano  Co. 

C.  A.  Ewing 

H.  C.  Schaub 

Joe  Murphey 

W.  T.  Delahunty  &  Co. 

Zimmermali  Plumbing  Co. 

Bert  Hall 

Decatur   Manufacturing  Co. 

J.  G.   Flint 

C.  E.  Woodward 

Bricklayers  &  Masons 

Forrest   File 

L.  F.  Kinister 

C.  A.  McMillen 

M.  C.  Nelson 

G.  W.  Lipscomb 
Owen  Scott 

C.  Martin  Wood 

H.  H.  Wise 

Byrd  Davis 

N.  O.  Maesterson 

Hamman  Bros. 

College  Club 

Fred  C.  Stowesand 

Hue  Singleton 

C.  F.  Mattes 

Wm.  Heyne 

G.  A.  Stadler 

C.  G.  Buffington 

N.  L.  Bourne 

F.  A.  Havighurst 

J.  O.  Engleman 

A.  T.  Davis 

A.  Beer 

Mrs.  George  R.  Bacon 

R.  S.  Baker 

Mrs.  I.  M.  Barnes 

Brown's  Floral  Store 


FOREWORD 

WHILE  the  temptation  is  to  tell  the  story  of  the  city  plan 
in  considerable  detail,   it   is  probable  that  a  summarized 
schedule  of  events  will  serve  as  well,  and  will  more  effec- 
tively  illustrate    the    characteristlic    way   in    which    Decatur   gets 
things  done.     Here  then  is  the  tabloid  history: 

Dec.  9,  1918 — Directors  of  Association  of  Commerce 
hear  a  presentation  of  a  city  plan  by  T.  J.  Aloreau. 

Feb.  25,  1919 — Appointment  of  a  City  Planning  Com- 
mission approved. 

March  6,  1919 — Scope  of  City  Planning  presented  in 
public  address  by  T.  J.  Moreau,  of  Chicago,  and  George  D. 
Roper,  of  Rockford. 

April  11,  1919 — American  Park  Builders  of  Chicago 
engaged  by  Commission  to  make  the  plan. 

April  16.  1919 — Myron  Howard  West  begins  work. 

April  18,  1920 — Commission  adopts  Mr.  West's  re- 
port. 

May  4, 1920 — Association  of  Commerce  adopts  report 
of  Commission. 

May  20,  1920 — City  Plan  presented  to  the  public. 


The  term  "Commission"  is  a  misnomer,  tolerated  by  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Commerce  and  perhaps  encouraged  in  order  to  give  a 
little  dignity  to  what  is  really  only  one  of  its  committees,  a  purely 
voluntary  body  without  a  particle  of  power  under  any  existing  law. 

With  this  confession  let  some  of  its  accomplishments  may  be 
recited. 

It  raised  quietly  and  without  any  special  drive  nearly  $3,600 
to  pay  the  engineer. 

It  brought  in  a  complete  and  final  report  in  a  little  more  than 
a  year  after  it  had  been  appointed. 

It  has  presented  the  plan  to  the  public  through  the  Associa- 
tion of  Commerce  meeting,  through  the  city  plan  exhibit  at  the 
Decatur  Industrial  exhibition  in  the  Art  institute  and  through 
numerous  lectures  to  clubs  and  other  organizations. 


20  The  Decatur  Plan 


It  has  obtained  from  the  plat  committee  of  tlie  board  of  super- 
visors the  promise  that  new  additions  shall  conform  to  the  city 
plan. 

It  has  conferred  with  the  City  Council  on  matters  pertaining 
to  making  available  the  industrial  district  and  putting  the  zoning 
law  into  operation. 

It  has  supplied  all  railroads  and  interurban  lines  operating  in 
Decatur  with  charts  and  text  of  the  City  plan  whicli  atifect  the 
railroads. 

It  has  outlined  and  presented  to  the  board  of  education  a 
course  in  city  planning  suitable  for  adoption  in  the  public  schools 
with  the  recommendation  that  it  be  included  in  the  curriculum. 

It  has  committees  at  work  on  such  subjects  as  street  furnish- 
ing, an  improved  street  car  system,  zoning,  freight  yard  develop- 
ment and  grade  crossing  elimination,  and  conference  with  real 
estate  interests. 

Its  work  has  only  just  begun  and  never  will  be  completed. 
Years  hence  when  Decatur  has  attained  a  population  of  100,000 
or  the  150,000  for  which  it  had  been  planned  the  commission  or  its 
successor  will  still  be  engaged  upon  the  plan,  for  in  the  ver}-  nature 
of  things  work  directing  the  growth  of  a  growing  city  must  be 
unending. 


It  is  with  a  feeling  of  satisfaction  combined  with  concern  that 
the  commission  presents  this  book  to  the  public. 

On  the  shelves  of  too  many  municipal  offices  lie  city  plans 
dust  covered  and  forgotten.  Some  conscientious  engineer  with 
vision  and  ideals  has  forecasted  a  community's  needs  as  Mr.  West 
has  forecasted  Decatur's;  the  plan,  providing  for  a  development, 
making  both  for  harmony  and  convenience,  has  been  received  with 
quite  as  much  favor  as  the  Decatur  plan,  and  then  as  the  first 
enthusiasm  has  abated,  the  community  has  gone  on  unheeding, 
development  has  continued  in  the  old  sprawling,  haphazard  style, 
without  unity,  harmony  or  intelligence.  Such  is  the  tragedy  of 
city  planning. 

May  the  justly  boasted  civic  spirit  of  Decatur  and  a  kindly 
Providence  save  us  from  this ! 

Mr.  West  has  conceived  of  an  orderly  arranged,  easily  tra- 


T!ic  City  Practical  21 


versed  city  where  everything  shall  have  its  proper  place.  He  has 
not  builded  out  of  idealistic  dreams  a  New  Jerusalem,  but  he  has 
planned  for  an_  American  industrial,  commercial  and  residential 
city  to  work  and  live  in.  He  has  touched  only  incidentall}-  upon 
beautificatiim  l)ecause.  with  order,  beaut>-  will  come.  Tf  with  this 
plan  to  guide  us  we  lapse  into  our  old  errors  of  reckless  and  selfish 
platting  which  leave  us  ugly  street  jogs,  if  we  squeeze  in  our  fac- 
tories along  railroad  main  lines  or  place  them  where  they  will  defile 
cjuiet  residential  neighborhoods,  where  they  cannot  expand,  if  we 
neglect  our  parks  and  drives,  leave  our  main  thoroughfares  dan- 
gerously narrow,  and  permit  our  railroad  crossings  to  remain  at 
grade,  we  shall  sin  against  ourselves  and  our  children. 

It  is  no  argument  against  the  plan  if  its  every  detail  cannot  be 
carried  out.  Undoubtedly,  more  practical  and  feasible  methods, 
which  \vill  warrant  a  departure  from  the  recommendations  will 
suggest  themselves,  but  our  purpose  should  be  to  give  the  plan 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt  in  every  instance,  and  not  to  depart  from 
it  until  we  are  certain  that  the  alternative  is  an  improvement. 

And  so  this  book  goes  out  to  the  people  of  Decatur,  whose 
intelligent  interest  and  financial  support  have  made  the  plan  pos- 
sible, to  public  officials,  from  whom  the  Commission  expects  and 
has  received  kindly  co-operation,  to  the  schools,  where  it  will  be 
studied,  and  to  civic  organizations,  and  libraries  in  Decatur  and 
elsewhere. 

Strictly  it  represents  the  ideals  of  Mr.  West,  but  in  a  larger 
sense  it  voices  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  all  the  people  for  the 
city  which  they  love. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

WARREN  F.  HARDY, 
Chairman    Citv  Plan  Commission. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 

Chicago,  April  12,  1920. 

To  tlie  City  Planning-  Commission  of  Deca- 
tur, Illinois. 

Ladies  and  (ientlemen:  Herewith  is  snh- 
mitted  a  report  and  recommendations  illus- 
trated, dealing  with  possible  ini])ro\-ements 
and  a  scheme  of  extension  for  the  cit\-  of 
Decatur.  This  is  in  accordance  with  our  con- 
tract with  you  dated  Ajjril  12th.  1919. 

\  ery  truh"  yours, 
AMERICAN  PARK  BUILDERS, 

Mvron  11.  ^^'est,  President. 


Introduction 


INTRODUCTION 

A  CITY  is  an  instrument  of  man,  built  to  aid  in  the  earning 
of  a  livelihood  and  to  furnish  domicile.  Primarily,  it  is  a 
place  in  which  to  carry  on  work;  incidentally,  a  place  in 
which  to  live  near  where  work  is  performed. 

Once  cities  were  fortified  groups  of  homes  from  which  people 
sallied  forth  to  tend  their  crops  and  herds.  Today  they  are  ma- 
chines turning  out  wealth  and  tended  by  a  surrounding  popula- 
tion living  in  the  tenements,  the  closely  built  homes,  the  sparce 
suburbs  and  even  on  the  scattered  farms  beyond. 

The  success  of  a  city,  like  a  factory,  is  dependent  on  the  quan- 
tity and  quality  of  its  output,  whether  it  be  a  city  of  industrv,  or 
trade,  of  pleasure  or  health  resorts,  or  whatever  line  of  work  it  may 
elect.  Tn  turn,  generally,  the  city's  work  is  made  possible  by  trans- 
portation, so  that  location  on  an  harbor,  a  navigable  river  or  one 
or  more  railroads  becomes  necessary. 

Fundamentally,  the  three  main  elements  of  a  city  therefore  are 
transportation,  facilities  for  work  and  homes.  If  a  city  is  to  be- 
come a  good  instrument,  these  elements  must  each  be  well  built 
and  must  co-ordinate  properly. 

City  Planning  has  to  do  with  such  co-ordination  or  the  fitting 
together  of  the  city's  main  and  lesser  factors  so  that  the  city  as 
a  whole  may  function  to  the  best  ad\antage  and  I)ecome  as  good 
a  machine  as  possible. 

In  the  improvement  of  the  elements  of  which  the  city  is  built, 
almost  every  branch  of  science  has  been  applied,  with  the  result 
that  progress  with  respect  to  these  elements  has  kept  pace  with 
the  times.  Develoimient  with  relation  to  harbors,  railroads,  elec- 
tric lines,  buildings,  water  and  sanitary  systems  and  lighting,  the 
control  of  fire  and  disease,  the  manufacture  and  handling  of  goods, 
the  building  of  streets  and  bridges,  all  these  are  being  well  done 
by  carefully  trained  experts  who  are  striving  constantly  for  im- 
provement. 

That  which  remains  is  to  arrange  these  elements  to  form  a 
satisfactory  whole.  The  tragedy  of  our  cities  in  the  past  and  the 
great  danger  to  them  in  the  future,  is  that  this  important  service 
has  not  in  most  cases  and  mav  not  in  manv  cases,  be  rendered. 


28  The  Decatur  Plan 


It  is  important  that  cities  be  well  ])iit  together.  Tt  is  impor- 
tant to  the  prosperity,  health  and  happiness  of  not  only  every 
dweller  of  the  city  of  today,  but  to  all  those  who  ma\-  live  and  do 
business  in  the  city  through  the  years  to  come. 

Cities  are  in  actual  competition  with  one  another,  both  by 
natural  and  artificial  processes.  Some  cities  have  natural  advan- 
tages, which  becoming  generally  realized,  produce  an  accelerated 
growth  at  the  expense  of  nearby  communities.  Again,  there  have 
been  examples,  especially  in  the  newer  sections  of  the  country 
where,  although  the  cities  in  question  were  poorly  located  and 
badly  built,  they  have  by  active  boosting,  been  brought  into  promi- 
nence; their  permanency  and  prestige  have  been  established,  even 
at  the  expense  of  communities  holding  better  potential  advantages. 

Citizens'  associations  everywhere  are  spending  money  freely 
to  build  up  their  respective  connnunitics  by  inducing  manufactur- 
ing or  other  enterprises,  which  in  turn  will  increase  population, 
build  up  trade  and  produce  higher  land  values.  This  brings  about  a 
purely  commercial  competition  among  cities  and  makes  it  appar- 
ent that  any  city  needs  exert  itself  whether  for  the  purpose  of 
forging  ahead  of  its  competitors  or  preventing-  these  same  com- 
petitors from  sucking  its  own  life  blood.  Darwin's  theory,  that 
of  the  survival  i>f  the  fittest,  a]iplies  to  cities  as  surel}'  as  to  the 
animal  kingdom. 

While  success  in  building  u])  cities  has  no  doulit  attended 
clever  salesmanshi])  and  skilfully  engineered  propaganda,  in  which 
minor  features  of  spectacular  nature  have  been  given  undue 
prominence  and  while  in  other  cases  cities  have  grown  large  and 
prosperous  by  reason  of  natural  advantages,  the  great  majority 
of  cities,  like  the  great  majority  of  men,  belong  to  the  class — 
ordinary.  Having  their  beginning  like  other  neighboring  villages, 
they  have  by  reason  of  a  factory,  a  mine,  a  railroad  intersection  or 
some  such  advantage,  grown  more  rapidly  and  have  taken  on  the 
aspect  of  cities.  However,  while  undergoing  development  u])  to 
this  point,  other  equally  endowed  villages  in  other  zones  of  in- 
fluence have  done  the  same  and  there  has  sjirung  u])  over  the 
country,  a  series  of  ordinary  small  cities. 

These  in  turn  enter  competition,  none  are  susceptible  to  boom 
methods  and   none  have   the  natural   advantages   such   as   would 


The  City  Practical  20 


cause  the  making"  of  a  metropolis.  Competition  among  this  group 
becomes  a  matter  of  creating  civic  vakies.  in  other  words,  the 
best  city  is  apt  to  win  from  this  point  on. 

OuaHty  in  cities  is  dependent  first  of  all  u])on  good  arrange- 
ment in  building.  A  well  arranged  citv,  one  which  is  convenient 
and  attractive,  which  has  ample  parks  and  playgrounds,  good 
public  buildings,  a  fine  business  section,  a  good  water  supply,  good 
schools  and  the  like  and  which  above  all  is  well  put  together,  soon 
becomes  known  as  a  desirable  place  in  which  to  live  and  naturallv 
draws  to  itself  new  lines  of  industry  with  their  attendant  opera- 
tives. No  city  can  reasonably  expect  to  attain  and  maintain  this 
civic  ciuality  without  adopting  and  following  a  definite,  scientific 
and  practical  plan.  Practically  every  American  citv  demonstrates 
the  fallacy  of  attem])ting  to  l)uil(l  the  cit\-  machine  without  fore- 
thought. 

In  the  beginnings  of  our  cities,  there  was  generallv  a  street  plan, 
often  comprising  only  a  few  city  blocks,  but  which  at  least  was 
orderly.  As  time  progressed  and  additions  were  made,  even  a 
semblance  of  orderliness  was  lost,  and,  year  !))•  year,  while  va- 
rious features  within  the  city  underwent  rajiid  im])rovement,  tlic 
city  in  arrangement  l)ecame  more  com])lex  and  hodgepodge  in 
character.  This  has  brought  about  alarming  conditions.  The 
expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money  has  been  made  necessary  to 
correct  mistakes  which  should  have  been  obvious  at  first  and 
would  have  been  unthinkable,  had  the  crudest  sort  of  a  citv  ]dan 
been  available  to  follow. 

The  problem  of  planning  for  a  city  alreadv  esta])lished  di\ides 
itself  into  two  general  parts,  first,  that  of  designing  a  lavout  of 
streets,  railroads,  car  lines,  factory  districts,  residcnti;il  sections, 
etc.,  on  lands  surrounding  the  present  built  vip  city  to  provide  for 
future  growth.  The  second  problem  is  that  of  suggesting  cor- 
rections, rearrangement  and  improvement  of  the  present  citv,  that 
it  may  properly  connect  and  function  with  this  future  extension 
and  that  it  may  become  satisfactory  in  itself  and  not  run  the  danger 
of  being  abandoned  in  later  years  because  of  its  shortcomings. 

Of  the  two  general  problems,  the  first  is,  without  question,  the 
more  important,  although  generally  less  appreciated.  A  new  city 
complete  in  all  its  elements  is  designed  on  virgin  territor\-.     The 


The  Pccatiir  Plan 


<•••••••••••••••••< 


science  of  modern  city  i^lanning-  is  bron.ght  to  hear  with  full  con- 
sideration given  to  local  conditions  and  a  policy  is  outlined  which 
mav  he  followed  for  generations  to  guide  the  cities"  growth.  Tn 
this  case,  no  expense  is  called  for  other  than  that  which  must,  in 
anv  event,  take  place  if  the  city  is  to  grow.  Indeed,  if  wisely 
planned,  economies  are  g'enerally  shown,  which  compared  with 
past  development  are  of  startling  magnitude.  Most  important 
of  all,  however,  a  scientific  co-ordination  of  city  elements  is  pro- 
vided, only  hy  which  a  really  efficient,  attractive  and  convenient 
tool  of  civilization  may  be  built. 

The  part  of  the  i)rohlem  ])ertaining  to  the  remodeling-  of  the 
old  city,  while  necessarily  more  spectacular  in  its  nature  and  more 
costly  to  bring  about,  shoitld  be  approached  with  catition  and  con- 
servatism and  should  be  carried  otit  only  as  time  and  financial 
aliilit\"  make  exjiedient. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  once  decided  upon,  these  changes, 
radical  as  they  may  appear,  should  be  carried  through  cour- 
ageously and  to  a  definite  purpose.  The  investment  is  too  large 
to  be  jeopardized  by  allowing  this  nucleus  of  the  greater  cily  to 
become  antiquated,  as  has  been  true  in  cities  like  Xew  Orleans, 
where  the  French  Quarter,  once  complete  unto  itself,  is  now  looked 
tipon  as  an  interesting  but  unimportant  adjunct  to  the  great  new 
community  extending  beyond  Canal  Street. 

llie  problem  of  the  old  city  is  a  difficult  one,  for  the  citv  ]ilan- 
ner.  not  only  from  an  engineering  standpoint  hut  because  of  those 
discouraging  circumstances  which  always  attend  the  tearing"  down 
of  that  which  was  built  with  efifort  and  cost.  It  is  disheartening  to 
correct  mistakes,  there  is  always  the  thotight  of  wasted  efifort  and 
of  retraced  steps,  which  should  have  been  made  in  the  right  direc- 
tion at  first.  To  the  citizens  the  fdllowing  out  o\  this  ])art  of  the 
program,  means  bond  issues  and  taxes.  While  generally,  these 
improvements  ma\-  be  demonstrated  as  thorotighly  worth  while 
of  themselves,  irrespective  of  their  relation  to  far  reaching  bene- 
fits, anfl  while  many  linu-s  these  projects  of  reconstruction  please 
the  popular  mind,  not  the  least  value  given  to  the  community  is 
the  lesson  they  drive  home.  A  people  forced  to  pav  so  heavily  for 
the  correction  of  past  mistakes,  will  be  loath  to  allow  their  city  to 
go  on  year  by  year  insidiously  duplicating  these  errors. 


The  City  Practical 


The  time  to  build  a  good  city  is  when  subdivisions  are  accepted 
on  record.  These  apparently  insignificant  groups  of  house  lots 
with  their  seemingly  innocent  plan  for  street  layout,  are  the  prime 
menace  to  the  American  city.  In  fact  probably  nine-tentlis  of 
every  city  of  the  count r\-  has  been  planned  and  built  by  individual 
property  owners,  whose  chief  interest  has  centered  on  getting  as 
much  out  of  a  few  acres  of  land  as  possible.  The  streets  thus 
carelessly  designed  and  located  with  the  sole  purpose  of  creating 
profit  to  individuals  become  the  artries  of  the  city.  Their  fre(|uent 
change  in  width  and  direction,  their  constantly  recurring  dead 
ends,  their  lack  of  proper  gradient,  all  spell  inconvenience  which 
in  turn  spells  an  inestimable  loss  to  city  users. 

The  building  of  a  city  by  sporadic  individual  effort  without 
regard  for  the  common  good,  cannot  continue  if  cities  are  to  fulfill 
their  true  purpose. 

The  benefits  of  city  |)lanning  do  not  end  with  the  improvement 
of  the  physical  city,  they  extend  to  the  creation  of  civic  pride. 
Civic  pride  makes  for  ambition  and  serious  effort.  This,  once  crys- 
tallized and  properly  directed  may  give  to  the  city  that  character 
by  which  it  is  made  outstanding.  It  is  difficult  to  center  one's 
faith  on  a  purposeless  city,  one  wdiich  is  drifting  like  a  ship  without 
a  rudder.  A  corporation  which  is  unable  to  show  a  policy  has 
difficulty  in  selling  its  stock. 

The  city  plan  may  be  visualized.  It  can  be  held  up  as  a  definite 
goal.  It  creates  a  new  vision,  a  widened  horizon,  an  incentive  to 
united  efifort.  The  city  plan  has  none  of  partisanshij),  it  favors  all 
sections  alike.  Sectional  jealousies  which  have  held  back  so  manv 
communities  must  break  down,  once  the  true  scope  and  meaning 
of  the  plan  is  appreciated. 

The  plan  is  worth  while,  if  Init  a  single  mistake  is  therewith 
forestalled.  At  a  minimum  city  planning  must  pay,  on  the  average 
it  means  to  the  city  what  a  constitution  means  to  a  state,  education 
to  a  person,  a  plan  to  a  building.  At  the  maximum,  backed  b\-  intel- 
ligent public  opinion  it  may  become  the  gospel  bv  which  the  citv 
will  be  lead  to  the  realization  of  high  ideals.  The  plan  will  guard 
the  city  from  the  rampaging  of  stupid  or  vicious  administrations 
and  will  he  welcomed  as  a  long  looked  for  aid  by  patriotic  and  effi- 
cient citv  governments. 


The  Decatur  Plan 


To  the  Associatimi  of  Commerce  and  other  civic  liodies,  the 
citv  plan  hecomes  of  great  mument.  Not  only  does  it  present  the 
very  best  agency  for  advertising  the  city — for  it  shows  a  definite 
purpose — expressed  concretely,  but  it  provides  a  standard  by  which 
the  various  ideas  of  citizens  concerning-  desired  improvements 
may  be  checked.  I^ed  by  imjiulse,  such  organizations  are  in  dan- 
ger of  exerting  their  force  to  create  benefits  which  later  fall  short 
of  expectations.  By  reason  of  lacking  perspective,  other  ecjually 
important  benefits  are  at  the  time  overlooked  and  are  found  to  be 
obstructed  when  their  time  for  consideration  arrives. 

A  cit\'  ]dan  falls  short  of  its  true  possibilities  if  it  fails  to  aid 
in  all  phases  of  comnuuial  life.  While  the  report  and  illustrating 
drawings  of  the  planner  may  seemingly  deal  with  Init  physical  ele- 
ments and  may  even  neglect  some  of  these,  city  planning  carried 
to  the  n-th  power  may  include  the  greater  human  problems,  met 
with  in  the  modern  city.  Health,  recreation,  education,  ethics,  mor- 
als, home  building,  industrial  policy,  relations  with  other  cities  and 
especially  with  the  closely  allied  farming  communities,  all  these  fit- 
tingl}'  come  under  a  comprehensive  program  for  extending, 
strengthening  and  upbuilding  the  community.  The  term  "city 
])lan"  ma\-  be  fittingly  applied  only  to  such  a  broad  program. 


Q'he  City  of  Decatur 


o 


I 


^ 


I 


piled  to  ahotv  Quilyins  'Oodt  and  laleil  tubd 
Area  plolled  in  city  •Heel,  4000  ■ 
Are*   built   up  3770   ( 


i?% 


THE  CITY  OF  DECATUR 

DECATUR  typifies  the  energetic,  sound,  fast  growing  cities 
of  the  middle  west.  There  is  nothing  of  Decatur  that  is 
sordid,  no  crowded  tenements,  no  sweatshops,  no  mills 
crowded  with  women  or  overworked  children,  no  narrow  streets 
flanked  with  shacks  and  basement  living  quarters. 

Visiting  Decatur  after  seeing  the  conditions  under  which  peo- 
ple live  in  some  cities  abroad  or  even  in  the  older  cities  of  our  own 
country,  one  feels  a  great  relief.  Decatur  is  "no  mean  city"  yet 
there  is  room  for  improvement  and  being  superior  in  physical  con- 
dition to  so  many  other  cities,  there  is  all  the  more  reason  for  exer- 
cising prudence  and  forethought  concerning  her  future  develop- 
ment. 

Decatur  was  well  placed,  whether  by  intention  or  accident. 
Here,  a  wonderful  fertile  country  of  great  potential  wealth  made 
a  citv  inevitable.  The  discovery  of  coal  underlying  all  the  region, 
the  advent  of  railroads  centering  here  from  many  directions,  to- 
gether with  the  agricultural  wealth  of  the  region,  made  constant 
growth  a  certainty.  Merely  to  take  care  of  the  trade  of  the  trib- 
utarv  country,  would  have  made  the  city  possible.  But  Decatur 
has  become  more  than  a  city  of  local  influence.  That  energy 
and  resourcefulness  which  caused  the  wild  plains  of  a  hundred 
years  ago  to  become  the  built  up  empire  of  today,  has  brought  to 
Decatur  over  one  hundred  thirty  manufacturing  enterprises,  with 
a  yearly  output  of  some  sixteen  million  dollars. 

Decatur  is  a  good  city  in  which  to  live.  The  climate  is  equa- 
ble, the  city  is  freely  supplied  with  schools  and  churches.  Music, 
art  and  higher  education  are  centered  here.  The  topography  here- 
abouts is  charmingly  diversified  on  account  of  the  creeks  and  river 
giving  a  grateful  change  to  the  monotony  of  rolling  prairie  around. 
The  city  is  not  out  of  the  world,  but  a  few  hours"  ride  takes  one  to 
other  modern  and  populous  centers. 

Decatur  is  surrounded  by  markets.  The  tributary  population 
has  far  from  reached  its  maximum.  There  is  no  gTeat  city  near 
to  rob  her  of  her  individuality,  yet  she  is  sufficiently  close  to  the 
great  metropolis  of  the  middle  west  to  secure  therefrom  advan- 


Ji^o         jfjo 

Y  £  ARS 


DIAGRAM  OF  GROWTH  OF  POPULATION 

According   to    Decatur's   present    rate    of    growth,    the    city    will    reach    a    population    oi 


150,000  in  the  year   1956. 

The  present  rate  curve   corresponds   closely   with  that   of  average   grow 


th 


1890. 


ZON£  or  INFIUENCE  CHART 
DECATUR  UllNOJS 


ZONE  OF  INFLUENCE  CHART 

Decatur  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  wonderfully  fertile  country,   is  admirably  served  by   rail- 
roads and  is  tributary  to  a  large  and  fast-growing  population. 


38  The  Decatur  Plan 


tages,  in  the  wav  of  lalxir  supply,  markets  and  goods. 

Decatur's  growth  has  never  been  phenomenal  hut  always  steady 
and  constant,  giving-  that  stability  which  attracts  the  best  class 
of  investors.  Tt  is  a  kind  of  city  the  future  of  which  may  be  reck- 
oned Avith  well  nigh  mathematical  certainty. 

Estimating  the  city's  future  growth  from  that  of  the  last  twenty 
years.  Decatur  will  reach  a  population  of  one  hundred  hft\-  thou- 
sand by  1956  or  the  same  population  by  1957  based  on  the  average 
growth  of  the  city  since  1890. 

To  take  care  of  this  additional  one  hundred  thousand  jieople 
which  reasonal)ly  may  be  expected  to  live  in  Decatur  during  the 
next  thirtv-five  vears  or  within  the  lifetime  of  many  of  Decatur's 
present  citizens,  is  the  pur])ose  of  this  plan.  While  this  is  the 
primary  purpose,  the  plan  will  also  present  an  orderly  and  scientific 
start  from  which  the  cit}-  ma}-  develop  on  indefinitely. 


& 


The  Cit\'  Practical 


39 


/6  7.SOO 

/29.e  oo 

as.soo 

67,300 

y/////////////A6,000//////////y 

3/,/'>0 

ZO,7Sf 

I68W 

^ 

^^ 

Q 

0 

0 

s 

0) 

ri 

■V) 

15 

'^ 

«> 

^ 

% 

»i 

5 

5 

? 

0) 

5 

1 

CHART     SHOWING     ESTIMATED 

DECEISIMAL  INCREASE  IN  AREA 

OF    DECATUR    ILLINOIS 

Q'he  TTlotiue  and  Scope  of  the  Plan 


THE  MOTIVE  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  PLAN 

THE  city  of  Decatur  at  the  present  time  ()ccu])ies  a  plotted 
area  of  4()()()  acres  and  a  fairly  well  built  u])  area  of  8770  acres. 
Railroads  occupy  203  acres,  industr}-  207  acres,  trade  94  acres, 
parks  182  acres,  schools  25  acres.  There  are  1800  acres  built  up 
to  residences  while  the  remainder  of  the  4000  acres  is  devoted  to 
institutional  grounds,  scattered  building  sites  and  vacant  town  lots. 

The  population  based  on  the  area  devoted  to  housing  gives 
16.1  persons  to  the  acre  and  leased  U])on  the  entire  built  u])  area 
of  the  city,  gives  a  ratio  of  11  ])eople  to  the  acre. 

The  com])rehensive  plan  for  the  city  as  shown  covers  20,000 
acres  including  the  4,000  acres  already  ])lotted.  Of  this,  1,200 
acres  are  set  aside  for  industries,  oOO  for  railroads,  2,700  for 
]iarks.  220  for  schools,  500  for  commercial  expansion  and  an  ap- 
proximate total  of  14.150  acres  reserved  for  homes,  which  based 
upon  a  population  of  150,000  would  give  an  average  of  10.6  people 
to  the  acre  over  the  present  and  proposed  housing  district. 

This  report  has  been  made  to  deal  with  Decatur's  problems 
only,  it  not  being  deemed  advisable  to  load  its  pages  with  the 
famaliar  and  somewhat  hackneyed  examples  of  art  in  foreign  and 
neighboring  cities.  While  innumerable  comparisons  may  be  made 
with  stich  otitside  examples,  these  are  left  for  later  discitssions  of 
the  plan  from  the  ])latform. 

Tn  arranging  for  the  future  city,  all  of  the  greater  and  many  of 
the  minor  controlling  factors  have  been  kept  in  mind.  Acting  on 
the  supposition  that  transportation  and  industry  are  fundamental, 
these  problems  have  been  worked  out  first  and  the  city  plotted 
to  bring  about  a  satisfactorv  balance  between  these  features  and 
the  homes.  The  relationship  between  the  homes  and  the  parks, 
schools,  local  and  outside  transportation,  business,  etc.,  has  been 
fully  recognized. 

Tn  the  matter  of  aiding  industry,  the  main  objects  have  been 
to  establish  a  satisfactory  location  for  a  segregated  factory  dis- 
trict, to  present  a  practical  arrangement  therefor,  to  bring  into 
connection  therewith  all  rail  service  and  to  furnish  adefpiate  ]iro- 
vision  for  workingmen's  home  sites. 

The  problem  of  transportation  has  been  dealt  with  broadly  to 


44  77i('  Decatur  Plan 


include  the  hauling"  of  freight  and  passengers  into  and  through 
the  citv  to  anv  [xiint  therein  whether  h\'  railroad,  electric  cars, 
auto  trucks  or  pleasure  cars. 

The  street  plan  has  been  considered  first  from  the  standpoint 
of  efficiency,  second  from  the  stand])oint  of  economy  of  construc- 
tion and  maintenance  and  finally  from  the  standpoint  of  attrac- 
tiveness. 

Parks  have  been  considered  as  to  proper  location,  desirable 
proportionate  area  to  population  and  the  utilization  of  such 
grounds  as  would  be  improper  for  housing. 

A  more  comprehensive  housing  ordinance  is  urged,  not  so 
much  to  correct  existing-  conditions  as  to  guard  the  city  from  the 
mistakes  out  of  which  have  arisen  the  deplorable  congestion  and 
the  lack  of  sanitation,  which  are  confronting  other  cities. 

Onlv  such  changes  in  existing  streets  have  been  recommended 
as  seem  imperative  now  or  ultimately.  In  some  cases,  although 
the  need  is  not  at  this  time  pressing,  delay  will  entail  an  increased 
cost  out  of  proportion  to  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  waiting. 

The  grouping  of  future  public  buildings  into  a  harmonious  and 
practical  civic  center  is  in  line  with  all  else  in  the  i)lan.  What- 
ever is  worth  building  is  worth  building"  well  and  with  everv  pos- 
sible advantage  carefully  studied. 

If  the  plan  is  founded  on  any  one  scheme  it  may  be  said  that 
it  is  the  scheme  of  zoning. 

Like  a  well  ordered  house,  a  cit\-  should  ha\e  a  i)lace  for  ever\- 
thing"  and  have  everything  in  its  ])lace.  A  machine  fails  to  work 
if  its  parts  are  out  of  position  and  are  therefore  out  of  harmony. 
A  city  cannot  be  planned  scieiitifically  for  industry,  business,  trans- 
portation and  housing  quarters  unless  it  be  known  where  these 
are  to  be  located  and  within  what  zones  they  are  to  lie,  to  a  large 
degree,  forced  to  remain. 

The  Decatur  Plan  must  be  considered  as  elastic  and  cajiable 
of  change  where  changes  ma}"  manifestly  improve.  If  wisely 
made,  however,  changes  will  not  interfere  with  the  general  struc- 
ture of  the  ])lan,  l)Ut  will  carefull}  lit  into  and  co-ordinate  with, 
the  main  ]irogram. 


The  City  Practical 


45 


•'-ilLli,.il     !      !  i—it-ir,  i-nsA 

v~-.-r,nr!\M!rv-=  =  ^'^^ 

■■■■•cjijimrians—srirt!:^ 

3:3  ::ii:inn  cans;' 


.m;';: 


Jiiii-  r-' 
.iiii"r. 


:-:::::.pr:,  ;:;j-rtJlP-5i^...,'!— :  "iiGi;;:  :::;::;-i^-:r..i 


•.  i  ^J '::::;    building  density  chart 

if*'.  DECATUU      ILLINOIS 


BUILDING  DENSITY  CHART 
Showing  Trend  of  the  City's  Development 


CThe  Street  Plan 

Curued  Streets 

Railroad  Diagonals 

^Alleys 

Special  Street  Corrections 

Street  Furnishings 

Street  Lighting 

Street  Pauing 

Street  Ornamentation 


1 


c 


THE  STREET  PLAN 

THE  street  arrangement  for  future  Decatur  consists  of  a  series 
of  rectangular  blocks  laid  out  with  their  long  axes  toward  the 
center  of  the  city.  Superimposed  on  these,  are  a  limited  num- 
ber of  diagonals  approaching  from  various  directions  and  extending 
as  far  toward  the  city's  center  as  practical,  without  disturbing  ex- 
pensive improvements. 

To  the  south  along  the  river  banks  and  westwardly  where  the 
land  becomes  broken,  the  straight  streets  divert  to  follow  along 
the  contours  in  long,  graceful  curves,  but  still  keeping  to  a  greater 
extent  their  continuity.  Beyond  the  river  and  creek  these  curved 
streets  lead  into  the  main  thoroughfares  by  which  the  waterways 
are  crossed. 

Rectangular  blocks  are  plotted  eight  by  fourteen  to  the  mile 
with  streets  on  half  mile  lines  one  hundred  feet  wide  and  inter- 
mediate streets  sixtv-six  feet  wide.  This  gives  20.5  miles  of  street 
to  the  square  mile  or  twenty-eight  percentage  of  the  entire  plot- 
ted area  used  in  street  surface.  One  hundred  foot  streets  would 
be  designed  for  fifty-six  foot  pavement,  the  sixty-six  foot  streets 
for  twentv-four,  twenty-six  and  thirty  foot  pavements  depending 
on  location. 

Comparing  this  layout  with  a  typical  example  of  present  street 
arrangement,  as  for  instance,  the  section  one-half  mile  west  of  Wa- 
ter Street  and  one-half  mile  each  side  of  the  Wabash  tracks,  there 
is  shown  a  street  area  of  29.4%  of  the  total,  not  including  alleys. 
This  is,  of  course,  brought  about  by  the  short  blocks  and  is  in  a 
measure  excusable  owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  business  section. 

The  saving  of  1.4%  however  involves  a  considerable  total  when 
applied  to  the  entire  area  plotted  in  new  streets.  This  saving 
would  amount  to  $809,000.00  for  each  square  mile  for  street  im- 
provements and  $78,000.00  for  each  square  mile  for  land  saved 
(based  on  20c.  per  sq.  ft.),  or  a  total  of  $887,600.00  for  each  square 
mile.  The  total  saving  for  the  nineteen  square  miles  involved 
would  be  $16,864,000.00. 

This  amount  would  produce  carrying  charges  in  the  way  of 
interest  and  depreciation  which,  based  on  a  population  of  150,000 
people,  would  give  an  annual  per  capita  charge  (taxes)  of  $9.71. 


50 


The  Decatur  Plan 


•••••••••••••••-•I 


1 

V ' 

1          1  '           '  i 

,1 ^1,1 \\\ \, 

L 

1 

1 1 

\t 1 

I 

1| 1 

j 

=^1 

1 

l| 1 

■ 

II 1 

5 

i 

J 

L 

i| 1 

\  [ 1 

1 1' 

1 'l 

(                                     If—                                It                                     11                                      11                                     11                                     |l 

1           III!           Ill             i[             ii|            ii             ,1 

o 

TYPICAL 

QUARTER      SECTION     OF    RECTANGULAR 

PL  ATT  I N\ 

G    TOR    RESIDENTIAL    DISTRICT 
DECAT  UR        ILLINOIS 

s     c     A      Li: 

Tlic  City  Practical  31 


As   compared  with  the   standard  eight   by  sixteen  block,   the 
annual  saving  per  ca]Mta  would  amount  to  $7.07. 


CURVED  STREETS 

A  total  of  5.1  square  miles  have  been  plotted  with  curved 
streets.  All  curved  streets  are  designed  for  residence  frontage. 
These  streets  would,  in  all  cases,  be  sixty-six  feet  wide,  although 
the  pavement  widths  would  vary  according  to  the  amount  of 
through  traffic  to  l)e  ex])ected  by  reason  of  their  connections.  In 
size,  the  blocks  surrountled  l)y  curved  streets  would  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  nature  of  the  topography.  In  g-eneral,  however,  these 
blocks  would  be  somewhat  larger  than  the  standard  rectangular 
block,  of  three  hundred  by  six  hundred  feet,  for  the  reason  that  the 
tendency  is  toward  larger  house  lots  and  that  these  particular  sec- 
tions being  naturally  attractive  would  build  up  to  finer  residences, 
requiring  more  than  the  usual  ground  space. 

In  the  matter  of  comparative  costs,  the  curved  street  la\out  is 
of  course  much  more  economical  than  the  standard  rectangular 
arrangement  owing  not  only  to  the  smaller  percentage  of  land 
used  for  street  svn-face  but  to  the  greatly  lessened  cost  in  grading. 

While  the  curved  street  system  would  obviously  be  impractical 
for  general  city  planning  where  comparatively  level  ground  is  en- 
countered, it  is  ideal  for  residence  districts  wherein  exists  broken 
topography.  It  secures  a  satisfactory  relationship  between  the 
house  lots  and  the  street  in  regard  to  grade,  in  contrast  to  that 
obtained  when  streets  are  carried  through  with  unrelenting  pre- 
cision as  to  line  and  grade. 

A  saving  of  $1,808,000.00  to  each  square  mile  is  shown  in 
curved  street  sections  as  compared  with  the  example  mentioned. 
While  compared  with  the  standard  plotting  recommended,  the 
curved  street  sections  show  a  saving  of  $261,000.00  to  the  square 
mile. 

The  eight  by  fourteen  block  system  as  compared  witli  the  usual 
eight  by  sixteen  block  system,  while  involving  the  same  area  in 
street  surface  to  the  square  mile,  offers  the  following  advantages: 

Main  thoroughfares  of  ample  width  are  provided  beforehand 
and  the  cost  and  difficulty  of  later  street  widening  will  therefore 


••»•••••■• — •"••■•-••••.••^1 


77h'  Dccatitr  Plan 


33 

Sli 


s 


^^.^ , l-^ 


./' 


.J 





ir't 


ii    1 

JL.  [ 


.J.  f!KL^i:W..-. 


eraet^  ~jiig tj^ 


tflcmr.    jr 


e.caretr  jr. 


Jf  ■"T<"»',gj;LjL.^  JLJi. 

Ii Hi — irii 


11 


J! 


I 


6i 


^r.~3aas^^2i' ii , 

f    trwM    ST      ^JBnnn 


CAMTIteit     ST. 


\ 


I     E    G    €   N  D 


\ 


CHAKT  or  EXISTING  THMtOUGHFARti 

nCCATUR  fLL. 


CHART  OF  EXISTING  THOROUGHFARES 

Showing    Principal    Streets    of    the    Present    City    as    Regards    Traffic    Volur 


The  City  Practical  53 


be  obviated.  These  half  mile  streets  naturally  will  become  those 
upon  which  street  car  lines  will  be  built,  in  which  main  sewer 
lines  will  be  installed,  and  over  which  the  heavier  traffic  will  be 
carried. 

Such  streets  would  be  fitted  with  heavy  pavements,  wide  side- 
walks and  other  e(|uipment  required  for  the  use  to  which  they  will 
be  placed.  Diverting  heavy  traffic  to  these  arteries  makes  for 
proportionately  lighter  traffic  in  the  secondary  streets.  This  in 
turn,  enables  the  use  of  narrower  and  lighter  pavements  thereon, 
lessening  cost  and  what  is  more  im])ortant,  giving  greater  privacy 
and  freedom  from  danger  on  these  secondary  residential  streets. 

Diagonal  streets  are  all  treated  as  main  thoroughfares  and  are 
proposed  to  be  100  feet  in  width.  \\'here  possible,  these  are  par- 
alleled on  each  side  by  a  secondary  street  intended  to  carry  light 
and  faster  moving  traffic,  to  increase  the  spacing  of  crossings  on 
the  principal  thoroughfare  and  to  force  back  into  the  residential 
zone  the  triangular  intersections.  While  these  may  be  effectively 
used  in  houselots  and  for  parking  sites,  they  are  extremely  trou- 
blesome on  a  business  street  as  they  do  not  permit  of  the  econom- 
ical use  of  land  for  business  structures. 

RAILROAD  DIAGONALS 

For  the  reason  that  railroads  usually  api)roach  cities  directly 
from  important  outside  points,  it  is  nearly  alwa\s  desirable  to 
carry  streets  on  each  side  and  parallel  to  their  rights  of  way 
through  the  city.  Such  a  plan  has  been  proposed  along  the  Illinois 
Central  line  which  would  become  the  line  of  the  main  group  of 
railroads,  and  also  along  the  Champaign  branch  and  all  lines  leav- 
ing the  main  group  outside  of  the  citw  The  removal  of  the  Peoria 
branch  and  of  the  St.  Louis  branch  of  the  Wabash  makes  possible 
the  use  of  these  rights  of  way  for  streets.  These  should  be  wid- 
ened to  one  hundred  feet  or  at  least  to  eighty  feet. 


54 


The  Decatur  Plan 


..•.^..•^•^•..•-••••••i 


Tlic  City  Practical  ^c 


ALLEYS 

It  is  recommended  that  no  alleys  be  used  in  residence  districts. 
It  is  assumed  of  course  that  lot  widths  will  be  controlled  so  that 
access  may  be  given  to  the  back  of  lots.  Block  depths  in  all  cases 
will  permit  of  alleys,  if  in  time  any  district  should  be  used  for 
apartment  houses  or  business. 

In  the  strictly  residential  sections,  the  alley  has  proven  but  an 
unnecessary  expense,  a  collector  of  rubbish,  a  source  of  danger  and 
disease  and  nearly  always  unsightly. 


56  The  Decatur  Flan 


SPECIAL  STREET  CORRECTIONS 

WIDENING  OF  BROADWAY  FROM  PRAIRIE  TO  WOOD 

It  is  suggested  to  carry  Broadway  and  \\'ood  Street  over  the 
Illinois  Central  tracks  by  means  of  a  double  viaduct.  A\'ith  this 
accomplished,  the  importance  of  Broadway  as  a  thoroughfare  will 
be  increased.  Widened  and  unobstructed  by  railroad  tracks,  it 
will  become  an  important  by-pass  street  tending  to  relieve  traffic 
pressure  from  the  center  of  the  city.  Broadway  will  also  be  of 
added  importance  b}'  reason  of  its  connection  with  the  proposed 
teaming  vard  and  freight  hotises  as  well  as  with  the  Union  Pas- 
senger Station. 

STREET  CHANGES  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  CIVIC  CENTER 

These  are  shown  graphically  in  the  civic  center  plan.  \A'ash- 
ington  and  iNIacon  Streets  thereby  would  be  abolished  from  Main 
Street  east  to  the  railroad  and  would  l)e  replaced  by  a  drive  bor- 
dered plaza,  leading  through  the  ]ud)lic  building  group. 

SOUTHWEST  BOULEVARD  AND  PROPOSED  STREET 
ARRANGEMENT  IN  VICINITY 

Lender  the  plan,  a  boulevard  would  be  carried  southwesterly 
from  the  intersection  of  ]Main  and  Decatur  Streets,  skirting  Green- 
wood cemeterv  and  making  connections  with  the  scenic  drive 
leading  along  the  bluff  and  skirting  the  lake.  This  boulevard 
would  in  ttirn  be  connected  with  Church,  I'nion,  Edward,  I'owers, 
Ewing  and  IMonroe  Streets. 

The  widening  of  Church  Street  from  a  \)v\n{  near  Macon  to 
the  proposed  drive  is  es]iecially  urged. 

WABASH  RIGHT  OF  WAY 

As  elsewhere  mentioned  in  this  report,  this  right  of  way  should 
be  used  as  a  diagonal  thoroughfare  extending  from  Eldorado 
Street  sotithwest  and  fixing  the  site  of  a  drive  bridge  over  the 
Sangamon.  This  right  of  way  is  one  hundred  feet  in  width  with 
the  exception  of  that  portion  lying  between  West  Macon  and 
Forest  streets,  where  it  narrows  to  fiftv  feet.  This  section  should 
be  widened  to  conform  to  the  remainder  of  the  right  of  wav. 


1 


c 


• 


• 


Tlic  City  Practical  57 


CONNECTION  OF  JACKSON  AND  WARREN  STREETS 

The  lack  of  a  thoroughfare  across  the  Wabash  railroad  on  a  line 
with  Jackson  Street  creates  a  serious  barrier  to  the  north  and 
south  flow  of  traffic  which  is  greatest  in  this  locality.  Although 
Franklin  Street  is  used  somewhat  more,  its  connection  with  War- 
ren Street  would  not  be  so  direct. 

The  block  between  Central  Street  and  the  Wabash  would  have 
to  be  cut  through  from  whence  W'arren  Street  would  be  carried 
to  the  east  to  connect  with  Jackson  Street.  Fortunately,  no  im- 
provements of  costly  nature  would  stand  in  the  way  of  this  under- 
taking. 

WIDENING  OF  MASON  STREET 

Mason  Street  from  AVater  Street  east  to  the  Illinois  Central 
should  be  widen.=d  to  eighty  feet.  The  increased  traffic  around 
the  teaming  yards  would  make  this  advisable. 

VAN  DYKE  STREET 

\  an  Dyke  Street  from  Eldorado  to  Harrison  will,  under  the 
plan,  be  freed  from  the  railroad  spur  and  electric  belt  line,  although 
a  trolley  line  will  be  located  here  in  conformity  with  the  jjroposed 
layout.  With  the  railroad  out  of  the  way,  \  an  Dyke  Street  may 
be  made  to  take  on  quite  a  different  aspect  from  the  present. 

AVe  recommend  its  widening  to  eighty  feet  from  the  Wabash 
diagonal  to  the  proposed  diagonal  leading  to  the  northwest.  By 
taking  the  railroad  right  of  way  and  the  tier  of  lots  intervening, 
a  thoroughfare  one  hundred  eighty  feet  wide  could  be  created. 
This  could  be  center  parked  and  made  into  one  of  the  show  streets 
of  the  city.* 

GARFIELD  STREET 

Garfield  Street  should,  in  our  oj)inion,  be  widened  to  eightv  feel 
from  the  northwest  diagonal  through  the  factory  district. 

GRAND  AVENUE 

(jrand  Avenue,  under  this  jdan,  will  also  become  a  tirst-class 
thoroughfare.  It  is  at  present  normally  sixty  feet  wide,  but  nar- 
rows down  to  fortv  feet  between  Union  and  Water  Streets.     Be- 


*This  suggestion  is  made  to  the  owners  of  abutting  property-,  but  is  not  offered  as  a 
recommendation  from  a  City  Planning  standijoint. 


58  The  Decatur  Plan 


tween  these  points  it  should  he  widened  to  at  least  sixty  feet  and 
if  it  be  deemed  possible  should  be  widened  to  eig'hty  feet  through- 
out its  entire  length. 

UNION  STREET 

Under  the  ]dan.  Union  Street  will  make  imjiortant  connections 
with  the  through  thoroughfare  leading  to  the  northwest  beyond 
the  Pvthian  Home.  Union  Street  is  one  of  the  many  which  have 
been  allowed  to  change  their  widths  as  extensions  have  been 
plotted  and  if  it  is  to  be  made  to  handle  considerable  through 
traffic  and  assume  the  dignity  of  an  arterial  thoroughfare,  timely 
consideration  should  be  given  to  providing  a  uniform  width  be- 
tween the  railroad  and  Grand  Avenue.  It  is  now  sixty  feet  wide 
between  Grand  and  Garfield  and  seventy  feet  wide  from  this  point 
to  the  hospital,  where  it  is  widened  to  ninety-four  feet.  We  rec- 
ommend a  uniform  witlth  of  seventy  feet  from  Garfield  to  the 
hosi)ital. 

EDWARD.   WOODFORD  AND  SEVENTH  STREETS 

These  streets  should  ultimately  be  widened  to  eighty  feet  to 
permit  of  car  lines  without  interfering  with  increased  traffic. 

FAIRVIEW  AVENUE 

Would,  imder  the  plan,  be  widened  over  a  distance  of  three 
and  one-half  blocks. 

OAKLAND  AVENUE 

Would  be  widened  as  shown  for  boulevard  i)urposes. 

ORCHARD  STREET 

Would  be  widene<l  to  ])ermit  of  better  access  to  the  freight 
yards. 

In  the  plan,  such  widening  is  shown  on  one  or  both  sides  of 
streets  as  seems  most  feasible.  In  all  cases  above,  widening  may 
be  probably  best  brought  about  by  the  set  back  of  building  lines. 

CERRO  GORDO  STREET 

Would  be  extended  as  shown  between  Monroe  and  \'an  Dyke 
Streets  and  further  to  the  west  to  Fairview  Avenue. 


m 


Tlic  City  Practical  59 


DUNHAM  STREET 

Would  be  carried  through  to  connect  witl:  the  proposed 
diagonal. 

The  following  streets  wouUl  be  extended  to  form  better  con- 
nections and  to  permit  of  a  better  traffic  circulation:  Cottage  Hill. 
Forest,  John,  Lawrence,  W'hitmer,  T,incoln,  Cleveland  and  Rogers. 

The  vacation  of  streets  as  shown  in  the  vicinity  of  Nelson  Park 
and  the  Country  Club  would  be,  as  may  be  seen,  for  the  belter 
arrangement  of  blocks. 

CENTER  STREET  EXTENDED  WEST 

The  three  blocks  lying  between  Water  and  Union  Streets  north 
of  Grand  Avenue  are  abnormally  long  and  luring  about  an  obstruc- 
tion to  east  and  west  traffic.  This  will  become  more  and  more 
serious  as  the  city  becomes  larger.  It  is  recommended  that  Center 
Street  be  carried  through  to  Union  Street  as  shown. 

SUGGESTED  PLOTTING  NORTHWEST  OF  MONROE  AND 
GARFIELD  STREETS 

This  is  shown  in  c(Minection  with  interior  street  correction  be- 
cause it  in  some  cases  changes  plotted  but  unimproved  streets. 
Few.  if  anv,  improvements  would  be  interfered  with  bv  these 
changes. 

JOHNSON  AND  OLIVE  STREETS 

It  is  recommended  that  both  Johnson  and  Olive  Streets  be 
opened  through  to  Water  Street.  The  latter  street  to  be  thus 
improved  whenever  made  possible  by  the  abandonment  of  the 
Peoria   branch  of  IlliuMis  Central. 

REPLOTTING  LAND  CONTIGUOUS  TO  THE  PROPOSED  FACTORY 

DISTRICT 

All  plots  of  record  in  connection  with  land  l}'ing  east  of  the 
east  line  of  Torrence  Park  and  north  of  Garfield  Avenue  have  l)een 
overlooked  in  the  proposed  arrangement  of  the  factory  district. 
In  addition,  a  plan  of  street  arrangement  has  been  suggested  for 
all  vacant  land  lying  west  and  south  as  far  as  the  Wabash  and 
Illinois  Central  Railroads. 


6o  Tlic  Decatur  Plan 


"•••»■>>"•"»'•»"•"♦"»«■♦««•"•"«"«"<-»•«»"»">"•**»*«>«»•«•♦"•'•»"»• 


DIVISION  STREET 

Tt  is  proposed  to  extend  Division  Street  east  to  Illinois  Street, 
carrvins:  same  under  the  railroad  and  making;  possible  an  impor- 
tant thoroughfare,  to  give  added  accessibility  to  the  factory  dis- 
trict. 

CALHOUN  STREET 

It  is  ])roposed  to  carry  this  street  north  to  intersect  with  the 
diag^onal  extending  along  the  railroad.  This  to  be  done  whenever 
the  industrial  plants  on  land  to  the  north  will  not  be  seriously  inter- 
fered with. 

WILLIAM  STREET 

One  of  the  sad  examples  of  the  fallacy  of  trying  to  buiUl  streets 
without  official  control  and  a  definite  plan  is  illustrated  by  the  jog 
in  \\'illiam  Street  between  Jasper  and  East  Streets.  Xot  only  was 
an  important  thoroughfare  blocked  and  made  inconvenient  but 
an  exceedinglv  poor  lot  division  was  brought  about.  There  is  no 
(|uestion  but  the  best  way  out  of  the  tlifhculty  would  be  to  expro- 
priate all  the  land  lying  between  the  alley  north  of  Prairie  Street 
and  Xorth  Street,  carry  William  Street  through  on  its  original 
line  and  resell  the  lots  arranged  conveniently,  for  use. 

The  frontage  of  ^^'illiam  Street  is  closely  built  up  and  such  a 
l)lan  would  mean  the  wholesale  moving  of  houses.  Providing  that 
bv  ordinance  the  erection  of  more  costly  buildings  could  be  pre- 
vented, there  would  in  all  probability  come  a  time  when  the  present 
structures  could  be  removed  at  an  expense  compatible  with  the 
benefits  to  be  derived.  If  this  district  is  allowed  to  be  developed 
equally  with  other  parts  of  the  city,  there  may  never  come  a  time 
when  the  citv  government  would  consider  this  change  tinanciall} 
possible. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  retard  the  development  of  the  district 
by  ordinance  would  of  course  immediately  bring  u\)  the  matter  of 
damages  due  to  property  owners. 

An  alternative  to  the  project  of  cutting  William  Street  through 
on  a  straight  line  would  be  to  round  off  the  corners  at  Jasper  and 
East  Streets.  This  would  necessitate  the  using  of  at  least  two  lots 
at  each  end  and  again  would  not  provide  the  widening  of  the  short 
section  of  William  Street  w  liich  is  after  all  of  the  most  importance. 


The  City  Practical  6t 


This  would,  at  best,  be  a  makeshift,  wliich  has  no  ])hice  in  a  ])ro- 
grain  of  tliis  character. 

DIAGONALS  ALONG  THE  C.   H.   &   D. 

It  is  proposed  to  carry  a  diagonal  street  on  both  sides  of  the 
C.  H.  &  D.  right  of  way  from  Eldorado  Street  southeast  to  the 
river,  where  a  bridge  crossing  would  be  made  on  the  west  side 
of  the  tracks.  This  diagonal  would  serve  the  purpose  of  collecting 
traffic  from  the  west  to  be  carried  across  the  river  and  from  the 
east  into  town. 

REPLOTTING  OF  DISTRICT  SOUTHEAST  OF  WOOD  AND 
SEVENTH  STREETS 

This  suggested  arrangement  of  streets  is  influenced  l)v  the 
broken  topography  which,  together  with  the  proximity  to  the  golf 
club  grounds,  makes  possible  a  desirable  residential  communitv. 

ARRANGEMENT  OF  STREETS  NORTH  OF  GOLF  CLUB 

Important  in  the  proposed  arrangement  of  streets  fur  this  sec- 
tion is  the  proposed  diagonal  connecting  at  Decatur  and  Maffit 
Streets,  extending  southeasterly  and  crossing  the  impounding" 
lake  at  the  present  site  of  Lost  Bridge.  This  would,  in  time,  form 
an  exceedingly  important  thoroughfare,  tapping  the  countrv  to 
the  southeast  and  leading  traffic  into  town  over  streets  provided 
with  stibways  under  the  railroads.  The  block  arrangement  for 
the  remainder  of  this  sectiiui  nurth  of  the  countr\-  clul)  has  been 
sttidied  with  the  object  in  mind  of  ])roviding  suitable  frontage  and 
an  economical  use  of  land. 

SOUTH  SECTION  OF  THE  CIRCULAR  BOULEVARD 

The  proposed  circular  Ixnilevard  extending  to  the  west  from 
Lost  Bridge  Road  is  more  im])ortant  liecause  of  the  fact  that  it 
passes  through  improved  property.  The  boulevard  would  skirt 
along  the  north  line  of  the  country  club,  passing  over  the  ravines 
immediately  be}'ond,  thence  on  through  the  district  now  known 
as  "Oklahoma,"  which  will  be  to  a  large  extent  inundated  with 
the  comj^letion  of  the  new  dam.  thence  extending  north  .'ilong  the 


62  The  Decatur  Plan 


line  of  (iarrison  Street,  it  would  pass  to  the  north  of  the  ptimping' 
l)lant,  under  the  lllimiis  Central  Railroad,  along  the  crest  of  the 
slopes,  through  a  woods  and  Lincoln  Park,  and  linally  would 
connect  with  the  drive  along  Stevens  Creek. 

Onlv  hy  walking  over  this  ground  and  picturing  tlie  trans- 
formation which  may  be  wrotight  in  the  character  of  improve- 
ments along  the  wa}-,  can  a  citizen  of  Decatur  reall}-  understand 
the  true  purport  of  this  benefit. 

What  is  now  Decatur's  backyard  will  become  a  place  of  beauty. 
There  is  no  questioning  the  fact  that  this  is  a  project  which  woitld 
pay  real  dividends. 


The  City  Practical  63 


STREET  FURNISHINGS 

Perhajis  no  feature  of  the  city,  aside  from  the  liome.  is  more 
closely  associated  with  the  everyday  existence  of  city  dwellers 
than  the  streets.  Being  commonplace,  their  importance  and  pos- 
sibilities are  often  overlooked. 

Beautiful  avenues  in  distant  cities  often  provoke  admiration 
and  influence  the  creation  of  a  home  town  boulevard  which  con- 
trasts sharply  with  the  ordinary  streets  within  the  city.  There 
is  really  no  reason  why  every  street  should  not  be  as  well  treated 
as  the  so-called  boulevard.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  practicallv  every 
street  has  cost  as  much  to  develop  as  has  the  boulevard.  The 
ordinary  street  has  been  given  pavement,  curb,  gutter,  sidewalks 
and  generalh',  as  many  if  not  more,  street  trees  than  are  bestowed 
on  the  boulevard :  improvements  have  been  installed  more  or  less 
haphazardly  but  generall}-  at  quite  as  great  expense.  The  boule- 
vard may  have  been  slightly  better  lighted  but  this  feature  may 
have  cost  no  more  per  mile  than  the  antiquated  and  uglv  lighting 
of  the  ordinary  street.  Practically,  the  only  dilTerence  between 
the  ordinary  street  and  boulevard  is  that  the  one  lacks  the  uni- 
formity and  appropriate  treatment  of  the  other. 

We  do  not  want  all  our  streets  to  be  boulevards  in  the  sense 
that  they  be  built  primarily  for  show.  In  fact,  we  mav  properlv 
object  to  that  exotic  and  rather  pretentious  term,  but  we  have  the 
right  to  expect  that  every  street  within  the  city  be  as  attractive 
as  may  be  made  possible  with  the  money  available. 

There  are  many  things  which  enter  into  the  proper  furnishing 
of  a  street.  Foremost  among  these  are  tree  planting,  lighting, 
paving  and  sidewalks.  Special  ornamentation  which  mav  include 
the  introduction  of  statuary,  fountains,  little  parkings  and  the 
like  are  important,  and  not  the  least  in  this  consideration  should 
come  the  matter  of  building  line  control,  the  treatment  of  front 
yards  and  indeed  the  facading  of  buildings. 

Tree  planting  is  especially  important.  There  seems  to  be  an 
inherent  desire  on  the  part  of  all  i)ro])ert_\-  owners  to  plant  trees, 
and  they  generally  begin  on  the  little  bit  of  greensward  l\ing  be- 
tween the  curb  and  sidewalk.  The  work  is  prompted  by  a  real 
desire  to  do  something  worth  while,  but  results  in  starting  on  their 
way  toward  long  years  of  growth,  all  kinds  and  varieties  of  trees. 


64 


The  Decatur  Plan 


■••••••••■•••••••••••■••••••• 


of  all  sizes  and  manner  of  spacing",  and  showing  that  diversity 
which  is  to  be  expected  when  work  of  this  kind  is  carried  out  by 
several  thousand  individuals.  An  equal  amount  of  money  ex- 
pended for  the  wholesale  purchase  of  suitable  trees  and  the  plant- 
ing and  care  of  these  properly  supervised  would  make  a  showing 
really  worth  while. 

^^'hile  a  curved  street  with  wide  parkings  ma}'  be  suitablv 
planted  with  informal  groups  of  trees  and  shrubs,  interspersed 
with  perennials  and  other  flowers,  the  ordinary  straight  street  de- 
mands that  formality  of  planting  which  is  gained  by  uniformity  of 
kind  and  size. 

Trees  should  be  selected  with  reference  to  their  fitness  to  the 
particular  street  on  which  they  are  to  be  planted.  Where  the 
street  is  wide  and  the  houses  are  well  set  back,  the  American  elm, 
America's  street  tree  par  excellence,  may  be  used.  On  narrow 
streets,  with  less  room  between  the  sidewalk  and  the  buildings, 
such  trees  as  the  ash,  Xorwav  majde,  American  and  European  lin- 
den, gingko,  etc.,  are  better.  In  certain  sections,  smoke  resisting 
trees  should  be  used  and  the  employment  of  flowering  shrubs  and 
special  tvpes  of  planting  may  be  indulged  in  to  fit  special  cases. 

Street  tree  planting  and  care  should  be  taken  from  the  hands 
of  individuals  and  ])laced  in  those  of  a  competent  authority,  such 
as  the  city  park  commission,  the  commissioner  of  streets  or  a  spe- 
cial tree  committee,  through  which,  in  turn,  the  authority  should 
be  given  to  a  trained  and  experienced  arboriculturist. 

The  citv  should  set   aside  annualh'  a   sufticient   aj^prnpriation. 


PARK   AVENUE.    DECATUR 
A   Well-Planned   Street.   With    Houses   Set   Back,    Giving   Excellent   Setting  to   Homes 


The  City  Practical  65 


and  the  work  of  s])ra\in,g-  and  i)runing,  planting  vacant  spaces 
along  the  streets,  and  cutting  out  dead  or  damaged  specimens 
to  present  better  spacing  should  be  started  and  carried  out  sys- 
tematically. The  planting  and  care  of  trees  by  individuals  should 
be  allowed  only  by  written  permit  by  the  city  forester  and  under 
his  personal  inspection.  A\'hat  may  be  accomplished  in  ten  years 
by  this  method  can  be  seen  in  such  cities  as  BuiTalo,  N.  Y. ;  Spring- 
field, Mass.;  Hartford  and  New  Haven,  Conn.;  Newark,  N.  J.,  and 
in  many  other  cities  throughout  the  country. 

STREET  LIGHTING 

The  lighting  of  streets  in  smaller  cities  has  been  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  planned  and  executed  by  local  electric  companies. 
Occasionally  the  officials  of  these  companies  have  been  interested 
in  procuring  an  artistic  lighting  scheme  and  have  been  willing  to 
spend  money  necessary  to  do  work  out  of  the  ordinary.  Unfor- 
tunately, as  a  general  thing,  there  has  been  no  disposition  other 
than  to  sell  as  many  kilowatt  hours  as  possible.  High  voltage 
lamps  of  a  type  which  waste  current  are  placed  over  street  inter- 
sections and  swung  from  ugly  poles  served  by  overhead  wires. 

The  other  extreme  in  lighting  is  the  "Great  White  Way," 
popular  of  late  years,  concerning  which  the  astute  salesmen  of 
patented  and  ornate  electroliers  are  zealously  interested  in  selling 
as  many  concrete  or  cast  iron  creations  as  possible.  The  result 
in  the  main  has  been  forests  of  electroliers  surmounted  b_\-  twin- 
kling clusters  of  lamplets. 

Tt  would  be  to  the  city's  advantage  to  light  all  streets  effi- 
ciently, artistically  and  economically.  The  whole  city  should  be 
lighted  from  the  viewpoint  of  providing  safety  and  convenience  to 
street  users.  As  additions  are  built,  the  lighting  plan  should  be 
ready  to  be  followed  without  loss  of  time. 

A  special  electrolier  may  be  designed  for  the  city's  exclusive 
use.  Overhead  wires  should  be  abolished  on  account  of  their  \\n- 
sightliness  and  danger  and  not  only  should  this  apply  to  high  ten- 
sion lines  but  to  telephone  and  telegraph  lines  as  well,  ^^'ith  the 
im|)rovement  in  ty])es  of  underground  installation,  giving  greater 
efficiency  and  lower  cost  of  maintenance,  we  are  fast  approaching 
the  time  when  every  city  can  demand  that  the  street  be  at  last 
freed  from  the  hideous  lines  of  poles  and  maze  of  wires. 


66  The  Decatur  Plan 


STREET  PAVING 

New  types  of  pavement  are  being'  constantly  developed  and  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  advise  a  city  for  any  such  period  as  is  repre- 
sented by  a  city  plan.  The  wise  policy,  which  strangely  enough 
is  seldom  followed,  is.  however,  to  use  pavements  fitted  to  the 
particular  kind  of  traffic  the  street  in  (juestion  is  to  accommodate 
and  to  use  this  tvpe.  whatever  it  may  be,  continuously  over  the 
length  of  the  street  or  until  the  character  of  traflic  changes.  Too 
often  are  heavy  brick  pavements  placed  on  light  residential  streets 
and  light  asphalt  pavements  on  heavy  traffic  streets. 

STREET  ORNAMENTATION 

Throughout  the  city  there  are  no  end  of  opportunities  for  the 
little  embellishments  which  go  so  far  to  reflect  the  true  character 
of  the  conuuunitv.  These  exponents  of  the  city's  culture  cost  little 
but  do  nuich  to  establish  its  good  reputation. 

During  a  period  of  years,  many  of  these  features  may  be  ex- 
pected to  be  given  to  the  city.  Little  w'aste  areas  at  street  inter- 
sections which  amount  to  little  in  ])roperty  value  may  be  made 
beautiful  In-  i)lantings.  Fountains,  pergolas,  Roman  seats,  stat- 
uar\-,  properlv  designed  flower  beds,  sun  dials  and  the  like  are 
often  donated  by  public  spirited  citizens,  especially  if  it  is  known 
that  these  will  be  appropriately  placed  and  maintained. 

The  citv  plan  shows  the  way  to  provide  opportunities  for  these 
embellishments  in  the  street  l;i\-out  but  the  manner  in  which  these 
shall  be  treated  must  depend  u])on  the  good  taste  of  those  from 
time  to  time  in  charg-e. 


Industries 

The  Proposed  Factory  District 
Scheme  of  Arrangement 


INDUSTRIES 

DECATUR'S  industries  are  diversified  in  ciiaracter.  There 
seems  to  be  no  present  indication  that  anv  one  kind  will 
greatly  predominate.  This  of  course,  is  desirable  from  the 
standpoint  of  giving  greater  stability  of  output  and  labor  condi- 
tions. The  city  with  diversified  industries  is  more  apt  to  weather 
hard  times  and  to  undergo  constant  and  uniform  growth  than  the 
one  having  but  a  single  line  of  work. 

The  location  of  present  factories  is  to  some  degree  satisfac- 
tory. Those  which  are  building  up  along  the  Wabash  and  the 
Champaign  branch  of  the  Illinois  Central  to  the  north  and  east, 
fit  admirably  with  the  suggested  factorv  district. 

By  far  the  worse  situation  in  regard  to  factory  layout  is  that 
which  exists  along  the  Wabash  right  of  way,  west  of  the  Illinois 
Central.  Here  a  double  row  of  factories,  flanking  the  railroad, 
forms  a  veritable  wall  through  the  city's  midst,  cutting  the  busi- 
ness section  in  two  and  inserting  in  the  very  heart  of  the  residen- 
tial district  the  noise,  smoke  and  other  disadvantages,  not  the  least 
of  which  is  the  switching  of  cars  and  the  consequent  interruption 
of  traffic  on  intersecting  streets. 

While  the  location  of  factories  to  the  south  along  the  Illinois 
Central  is  to  a  measure  unfortunate,  these  do  not  form  the  barrier 
that  do  those  along  the  Wabash. 

The  policy  of  these  recommendations  is  not  to  hamper  in  any 
way  factories  now  existing  in  any  part  of  the  city.  Industry 
wherever  situated  is  too  vital  to  the  city's  good  to  assume  to 
destroy.  Furthermore,  it  is  not  within  the  city's  financial  abilitv 
to  remove  existing  plants  (exce])t  on  a  comparativelv  small  scale). 

While  it  is  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  citv  to  give  all  pos- 
sible aid  to  existing  industries,  at  the  same  time  it  is  in  no  wise 
incumbent  on  the  city  to  encourage  new  plants  to  build  up  in 
places  where  they  will  be  detrimental  to  their  surroundings.  The 
best  way  to  discourage  building  in  the  wrong  wav  is  to  encourage 
building  in  the  right  wav. 

With  this  motive  in  mind,  a  segregated  factory  district  has 
been  planned  with  careful  attention  to  benefits  which  may  be 
given  to  future  industries  therein  and  to  efTects  upon  the  com- 
munitv  as  a  whole. 


70 


The  Decatur  Plan 


'••••••■■•■••"••••"••••"•"•"••••"•"•"••••"I 


THE  PROPOSED  FACTORY  DISTRICT 

The  location  of  the  proposed  factory  cHstrict  is  tu  the  iiortlieast 
of  the  city  beyond  Woodford  Street  and  lying  between  the  Wabash 
railroad  and  the  C'hampaign  l)ranch  of  the  Illinois  Central.  The 
area  is  triangnlar  in  shape  spreading  out  as  it  extends  and  giving 
practically  unlimited  room  for  industrial  expansion.  The  land  is 
high,  well  drained,  and  practically  level.  As  attested  by  recent 
factory  development,  this  location  has  the  advantage  of  popular 
indorsement. 

The  present  location  of  railroads  makes  the  furnishing  of  ideal 
transportation  to  this  area  exceedingly  easy  to  bring  about.  The 
Cham]iaign  interurban  line  runs  through  the  tract.  Logical  ex- 
tensions of  the  i)resent  street  car  lines  would  give  necessary  local 
transportation,  which  will  lie  materiall}-  improved  bv  the  adoption 
of  the  general  street  car  layout  suggested. 

The  tract  lies  to  the  leeward  of  the  city,  thus  the  smoke  will  be 
carried  away  from  the  city  instead  of  through  it.  The  building  of 
factories  in  this  (piadrant  of  the  city  leaves  free  from  ])ossible 
molestation  the  exceedingl}-  fine  locations  for  homes  to  the  north, 
west  and  south.  Altogether,  the  site  suggested  has,  without  ques- 
tion, advantages  far  outranking  any  other  section  around  Decatur. 


.>^. 


Railroad  Shops  and   Industrial   Plants  Along  the  Wabash  Railroad.   East  of  the  City.  Showing 
Nature    of    Land    Selected    for   Segregated    Factory    District 


TJic  Cifv  Practical 


SCHEME  OF  ARRANGEMENT 

The  district  comprising  ajji^roximately  one  thousand  acres  has 
been  laid  out  with  rectangular  blocks,  measuring"  four  hundred 
sixty  by  eight  hundred  feet,  with  the  long  axes  north  and 
south.  East  and  west  streets  are  one  hundred  feet  wide  on  half- 
mile  sections  and  seventy  feet  wide  between.  Half-mile  streets 
north  and  south  are  one  hundred  feet  wide  with  intervening  streets 
sixty  feet  wide. 

Railroad  factory  lines  are  carried  through  the  middle  of  all 
blocks  from  north  to  south,  each  connecting  with  ])ro]5osed  classi- 
fication and  distrilnition  yards  along  the  Illinois  Central  and  Wa- 
bash railroads.  Thus,  each  factory  line  would  become  an  inter- 
change line  by  which  freight  may  be  received  or  delivered  in  either 
direction. 

Factory,  switches  or  spurs  may  be  taken  from  these  running- 
lines  as  found  most  convenient  and  whether  onlv  a  portion  of  a 
block  or  a  series  of  blocks  is  needed  for  a  plant,  ample  freight 
facilities  are  given.  The  wide  east  and  west  streets  make  possible 
an  easy  approach  to  the  team  tracks  and  freight  terminal  for 
broken  car  load  shipments. 

By  the  arrangement  given  79. 27^  of  the  area  is  available  for 
factory  purposes,  only  20.8/'''^  being  used  for  streets  and  railroads. 

While  the  area  shown  as  plotted  in  streets  would  in  all  i^rob- 
ability  accommodate  a  city  of  over  150,000  i)eo])le,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  in  the  event  of  passing  a  zoning  ordinance,  the  entire 
area  shown  here  for  industries  be  kept  free  from  permanent  build- 
ings other  than  factories  and  limited  to  those  needed  for  farms, 
market  gardens  and  the  like,  and  that  no  street  ])lotting  be  ac- 
cepted which  does  not  conform  to  that  best  suited  to  the  industrial 
district.  This  would  reserve  all  suitable  land  as  far  as  the  river 
in  the  direction  indicated. 

The  reason  generally  acce])ted  as  sufficient  for  the  segregation 
of  factories  is  that  thereby  homes  may  be  protected.  There  seems 
to  be  good  and  sufficient  reason  why  established  home  districts 
should  be  protected  against  the  encroachment  of  new  industries 
which  many  times  change  the  character  of  the  neighborhood  and 
depreciate  the  value  of  home  improvements.  In  some  instances 
this  does  not  hold  true  and  in  many  instances  there  is  n  (luickened 


72 


The  Decatur  Plan 


TYPICAL     QUARTER     SECTION     OF    RECTANGULAR 
PLATTING    FOR   FACTORY^  DISTRICT  SHOWING  POSSIBLE 
TRACK  .ARRANGEMENT 

DECATUR        ILLINOIS 

S       C       >X       1.      £ 


The  Citv  Practical 


sale  at  raised  prices  of  nearl)y  \acant  property.  This  is  of  course 
only  apt  to  be  true  when  the  district  in  question  is  but  poorly  built 
up  and  with  a  cheaper  grade  of  homes.  Many  a  fine  old  home 
section  has  been  robbed  altogether  of  its  character  and  forced  into 
a  tenement  district  b}-  the  advent  of  the  factorw  Therein-  lias  the 
development  of  years  been  destroyed,  the  sentiment  of  the  ances- 
tral home  lost  and  the  associations  which  go  to  make  for  better 
city  relations  broken  up. 

But  figuring  from  the  standpoint  of  city  planning  economics, 
a  still  more  potent  reason  may  be  advanced  for  factorv  segrega- 
tion, namely,  that  the  factory  itself  may  be  protected.  Inasmuch 
as  the  existence  of  the  home  is  largely  made  possible  by  the  exist- 
ence of  the  factory,  the  protection  and  encouragement  of  the  latter 
may  be  considered  of  paramount  importance. 

Existing  factories  are  being  constantly  hampered  in  their  ex- 
tensions. Generally  starting  with  but  small  resources  and  un- 
mindful of  the  possibilities  of  the  growth  of  its  business,  onlv 
enough  land  is  taken  by  the  new  compan}-  at  first  to  fulfill  inmie- 
diate  needs.  The  plant  becomes  circumscribed  by  homes,  which 
later  have  to  be  removed  for  the  plant's  extension.  This  is  costly 
and  must  be  paid  for  out  of  the  product  manufactured.  The  result 
is  to  the  advantage  of  competitors  whose  plants  ma\-  expand  at 
less  expense. 

An  area  kept  free  from  other  kinds  of  im])rovements  gives 
opportunity  for  expansion  of  unit  industries  without  mcreased 
cost  other  than  that  equal  to  the  carrying  charges  of  the  ])ropertv 
or  to  its  natural  enhancement  in  value. 

A  district  held  solely  for  factory  purposes  and  properly  ar- 
ranged for  such  use,  insures  ade(|uate  and  unifurm  railroad  service, 
a  feature  of  the  greatest  importance.  Many  established  indus- 
tries are  forced  to  move  to  other  cities  and  many  are  kept  from 
going  to  the  city  of  their  choice  because  of  the  lack  of  available 
trackage  or  the  difficulty  of  handling  cars  over  the  various  rail- 
roads within  the  city.  Added  to  this  is  the  constantlv  growing 
difficulty  in  obtaining  switching  service,  especialh-  where  grade 
crossings  are  caused. 

The  practice  of  building  factories  along  the  main  railroad  lines 
has  in  the  past  had  the  disadvantage  of  placing  the  manufacturer 


w 


J/  •/' 


WIND      CHAR  T 

L£6£/Va 

Prctse/sit     C/rr  or    Occ/^ruf!  Kwwwwi 

FuruRs     C/TK    Of    Dec^ruff  i  i 

Proposco        FfiicTORY       District  fifSSKHliWi 


S  ,*7 


WIND  CHART 

From  the  above  chart  it  will  be  noted  that  the  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  south 
and  southwest.  Therefore  the  location  of  the  factory  district  to  the  northeast  of  the  city- 
would  be  preferable  from  the  standpoint   of  smoke. 


T!ic  City  Practical  75 


somewhat  at  the  mercy  of  the  railroad  company.  Tliis  is  guarded 
against  and  much  saving  of  time  and  expense  brought  about  by 
the  location  of  factories  on  independent  lines  leading  into  general 
classification  and  distribtition  yards,  connecting  in  tttrn  with  all 
railroads  of  the  city. 

^luch  aid  is  to  l)e  extended  to  the  city's  industries  bv  reserving 
land  topographically  suitable.  The  practice  of  building  along 
main  lines  often  forces  plants  down  into  depressions  or  tip  on  hills 
where  it  is  difficult  to  secure  sw'itch  service  and  where  again  the 
cost  of  plant  extension  is  increased. 

The  best  possible  physical  relation  is  needed  between  the  fac- 
tory and  the  home  section  wherein  live  the  operatives.  This  mav 
be  best  provided  by  factory  segregation,  the  suitable  development 
of  a  nearby  workingmen's  home  district  and  by  a  scientific  ar- 
rangement of  connecting  streets  and  car  lines.  The  factory 
district  gives  opportunity  to  build  public  service  in  a  fitting  man- 
ner. Streets  may  be  paved  with  heavy  teaming  in  mind.  Water 
stipply,  sewers,  etc.,  may  be  built  to  meet  known  re(|uirements. 
Thus  factories  may  be  better  served  while  on  the  other  hand  a 
lighter  and  less  expensive  series  of  improvements  mav  ])e  installed 
in  the  residential  district. 

Not  only  does  sttch  a  factory  district  aid  established  industries 
bvtt  by  the  same  token,  it  aids  the  city  to  secure  new  ones,  and 
herein  of  cotu'se  lies  the  ver\'  crtix  of  city  progress. 


Q'he  Rdilrodd  Problem 

Special  Eleuation  of  Roads 

Special  Relocation  of  Routes 

The  Union  Station 

Freight  yards 

Summarg  of  Railroad  Change  benefits 


THE  RAILROAD  PROBLEM 

IN  SOLX'ING  a  railroad  problem  in  connection  with  the  city 
plan,  two  view  points  have  to  be  considered.     First,  as  regards 

benefiting  to  the  greatest  extent  the  city,  and  second  the  rail- 
roads themselves. 

It  is  usual  for  towns  to  be  located  on  existing  railroads  and  it 
would  therefore  seem  that  the  railroad  first  being  on  the  ground, 
should  have  the  right  of  way  and  the  town  should  adapt  itself 
to  conditions.  The  growth  of  new  towns  is  largely  dependent 
upon  new  railroads  being  built,  thus  giving  better  connections  with 
outside  communities.  So  eager  have  new  towns  been  to  secure 
railroad  lines  that  few  obstacles  have  been  placed  in  their  way 
and  they  have  been  allowed  to  enter  and  leave  about  as  they 
saw  fit. 

As  a  city  grows  larger  and  more  important,  however,  the 
aspect  of  the  case  is  altered.  Then  it  comes  to  pass  that  railroads 
need  the  city  as  liadly  as  the  city  needs  the  railroads,  and  with  the 
advent  of  new  lines,  the  city  finds  itself  in  the  position  to  dictate 
as  to  location  of  rights  of  way,  stations,  freight  vards,  etc. 

When  a  city  acquires  a  population  of  twenty  or  thirty  thousand, 
it  becomes  a  corporation  of  considerable  importance:  its  railroads 
bear  the  same  relation  as  its  street  car  lines,  interurban  lines  and, 
in  fact,  its  streets;  they  are  a  part  of  its  physical  structure  and 
their  arrangement  as  to  location,  grades,  etc.,  becomes  of  tremen- 
dous importance  with  relation  to  the  growth  of  the  city  both  from 
the  standpoint  of  rapidity  and  direction.  The  city  Ijecomes  a  fac- 
tor of  larger  consequence  than  the  cost  involved  in  rearranging 
lines  within  its  limits,  whereby  less  danger  and  greater  conven- 
ience to  the  inhabitants  may  be  brought  about. 

On  the  other  hand,  railroad  rights  of  way  have  been  granted 
by  state  or  government  legislation  or  by  exercising  the  right  of 
eminent  domain.  It  is  therefore  a  difficult  undertaking  to  change 
these  rights  of  way.  Again,  the  rivalry  between  lines  and  the  nat- 
ural jealousy  thereby  arising  have  caused  railroad  companies  to 
fight  tremendously  against  the  unification  of  rights  of  way,  sta- 
tions and  the  like.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  show  a  saving  in 
dollars  and  cents  in  operation  charges  and  maintenance  to  make 


8o 


The  Decatur  Plan 


•••••••••••••••••I 


TIh-  Cit\  Practical 


<Si 


••••••••••••■••••< 


these  suggested  changes  forming  a  part  of  the  city  plan  attractive 
to  the  railroad  companies. 

The  period  which  we  are  just  going  through,  involves  a  fur- 
ther item  of  difficulty.  At  present  the  roads  of  the  country  are 
in  a  chaotic  condition.  Railroad  huilding  has  dro])ped  to  prac- 
tically zero,  railroad  stocks  are  at  a  low  ebb  and  the  billion  dollars 
a  year  necessary  for  the  develo])ment  of  railroads  to  keep  pace 
with  the  growth  of  the  country  is  by  no  means  forthcoming.  At 
the  present  time  it  is  obvious  that  sweeping  changes  where  they 
can  be  gotten  along  without,  will  be,  for  a  while  at  least,  extremelv 
difficult  to  achieve. 

There  is,  however,  the  fact  that  the  advantages  of  railroad  co- 
ordination for  the  purpose  of  lowering  overhead  costs  and  bring- 
ing about  greater  efficiency  has  been  demonstrated.  There  is  the 
fact  that  railroad  companies  as  well  as  the  general  public  are 
at  last  seeing  these  benefits  of  co-ordination. 

There  is  a  probability  that  in  the  future,  there  will  be  at  least 
partial  government  control  which  will  tend  to  encourage  the  har- 
monious working  together  of  difl-'erent  lines  and  above  all.  there 
has  come  to  ])ass  an  estal)lishe(l  jjrecedent  that  large  communities 


Factory  District  Along  the  Wabash  Railroad 


82 


The  Decatur  Plan 


•••••••••••••••■•••••■••■•••-•■" 


••••••"••••••I 


"•"♦"•"••^"♦■••••1 


Another   View  of  Factory   District  Along   the  Wabash    Railroad 


have  the  right  to  demand  that  tlie  physical  arrangement  of  rail- 
road lines  shall  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  at  least  not  endanger 
life  and  liml). 

It  has  been  established  that  a  city  has  the  right  to  demand 
that  railroad  crossings  shall  be  freed  from  danger  and  this  has 
brought  about  all  over  the  country,  and  especially  through  the 
west,  the  comprehensive  elevation  or  depression  of  tracks  for 
the  purpose  of  traffic  separation. 

Decatur  is  well  served  by  railroads.  Ten  lines  approach  the 
city  from  as  many  dififerent  directions  and  meet  at  a  common 
point.  This  advantage  of  directness  is,  however,  seriously  offset 
by  the  disadvantage  of  having  the  city  cut  to  pieces  by  the  series 
of  railroad  lines. 

First  of  all,  this  condition  necessitates  a  large  number  of  street 
crossings,  each  one  of  which  is  a  serious  menace.  Again  it  leads 
to  the  development  of  factories  along  the  rights  of  way  which 
penetrate  in  all  directions  areas  needed  for  homes.  There  is  no 
question  but  that  this  has  a  marked  detrimental  effect  on  the  resi- 
dence districts,  introducing,  as  it  does,  noise,  smoke  and  danger  in 
close  proximity  to  the  homes,  with  the  consequent  depreciation 
in  property  values. 

It  might  be  assumed  that  the  roads  leading  into  and  through 
the  city  can  be  forced  to  elevate  their  tracks  and  therefore  do  away 
with  the  first  danger,  namely  that  to  the  city's  traffic.  This  would, 
however,  not  do  away  with  the  disadvantage  of  having  the  lines 


The  City  Practical 


83 


penetrate  tlie  liome  districts.  It  would  furthermore  bring  about 
a  confusion  in  switching  to  existing  industries.  The  elevation  or 
depression  of  lines  would  entail  engineering  difficulties  of  a  serious 
nature  and  there  would  result  a  series  of  uglv  embankments  or  cuts. 

The  roads  approaching  the  city  from  the  south  and  west  cross 
the  Sangamon  River  and  Stevens  Creek  over  bridges  at  such  a 
grade  as  to  cause  a  sharp  rise  into  the  city.  Elevating  the  tracks 
would  therefore  bring  about  additional  grades  which  would  be 
impractical  unless  the  bridges  were  raised  and  elevations  carried 
some  distance  beyond  these  waterways.  Depression  of  tracks  in 
the  first  place  would  be  extremely  expensive  and  woxdd  compli- 
cate matters  with  relation  to  existing  industries,  railroad  shops, 
etc.  Tn  connection  with  the  main  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  tracks 
depression  would  also  destroy  the  several  existing  street  under- 
passes. 

For  purposes  of  comparison,  four  possible  solutions  to  the 
Decatur  railroad  problem  have  been  analyzed. 

1st — Elevation  of  the  Wabash  Railroad  from  Jasper 
Street  west  and  of  the  Illinois  Central  from  Prairie  Street 
north. 

2nd — Relocation  of  the  St.  Louis  division  of  the  Wa- 
bash  to  come  in  over  the  Kansas  City  Branch. 

■>rd — Relocation  of  the  St.  Louis  Division  to  come  in 
over  the  Illinois  Central. 


^^^  i 


At    Millikin    University,    Where    the   St.    Louis   Branch   of   the   Wabash   Traverses    One   of  the    City's 
Best  Residential  Sections.   With  the   Inevitable  Result 


84 


The  Decatur  Plan 


••••••"••■•"•"I 


The  City  Practical 


85 


4th — Relocating  Ixith  tlie  St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City 
divisions  of  the  Wabash  to  come  in  over  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral and  the  diverting  of  the  Peoria  Branch  of  the  Illinois 
Central  east  to  meet  the  main  line  beyond  the  plotted  area. 

ELEVATION  OF  THE  WABASH  RAILROAD  WEST  OF  THE 
ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  TRACKS 

This  would  inchule  the  Kansas  City  and  St.  Louis  branches 
as  far  as  the  river  and  Stevens  Creek.  Its  advantage  would  lie 
merely  in  the  separation  of  grade  crossings. 

The  chief  disadvantage  from  the  city  standpoint  would  be  the 
difficulty  of  serving  the  present  factory  district.  According  to 
tables  following,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  elevation  would 
be  $1,405,850.00.  against  which  may  be  charged  the  item  of  S250,- 
000.00  for  a  new  Sangamon  River  bridge  as  repairs  and  renewals, 
leaving  a  net  charge  for  the  improvement  of  $1,155,850.00.  The 
cost  of  the  elevation  of  the  Illinois  Central  is  not  included  in  the 
above  figure.  There  would  in  addition  be  heavy  damage  claims 
from  ])ro])erty  owners,  es]iecially  from  Monroe  Street  east,  which 
are  not  included  in  the  estimate. 


'  *''-'*tri*i"'    I  I      'ZT 

Three  Trains  at  Once  On  One  of  the  Crossings   jl  tlie  Wabash — the  "Chinese  Wall"  of  Decatur 


The  City  Practical  87 


>«•••••••—•—••••••••••••••••■•••••»•••••■•••  •—«•••—•«•« 


RELOCATION  OF  ST.  LOUIS  DIVISION  TO  COME  IN  OVER 

THE  KANSAS  CITY  BRANCH  AND  ELEVATION 

OF  THE  KANSAS  CITY  LINE 

This  would  involve  $900,000.00  for  track  elevation  in  addition 
to  cost  of  the  belt  line  of  the  St.  Louis  branch  at  Boody,  which 
would  add  at  least  a  half  million  dollars,  making  the  total  cost 
more  than  tliat  for  comjilete  elevation.  Items  of  pr(»])ert_\-  damage 
would  also  enter  into  this  project. 

If  either  of  these  projects  are  carried  out,  the  location  of  the 
Union  Station  at  the  Illinois  Central  crossing  would  be  the  only 
feasible  plan.  This  location  is  already  congested  due  to  yards, 
industry  tracks,  freight  houses,  etc.,  and  is  disadvantageous  from 
the  point  of  convenient  and  uninterrupted  operation  of  trains. 

RELOCATION  OF  THE  ST.  LOUIS  DIVISION  TO  COME  IN 
OVER  THE  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL 

This  scheme,  while  diverting  the  double  line  traific  of  the  St. 
Louis  branch  from  the  present  factory  district  and  residential  dis- 
trict to  the  southwest,  involves  the  most  expensive  part  of  the  cut 
off  and  still  leaves  the  problem  of  the  Kansas  City  branch  unsolved. 

The  final  solution,  that  of  relocating  both  the  St.  Louis  and 
Kansas  City  branches  as  well  as  the  Peoria  branch  of  the  Illinois 
Central  brings  about  the  following  advantages: 

In  the  first  place,  it  would  relieve  the  western  section  of  the 
city  entirely  from  railroads  except  for  a  freight  switch  to  serve 
the  present  factory  district.  This  section  of  the  city  while  on  ac- 
count of  the  topography  is  not  adapted  to  manufacturing,  is  for 
the  same  reason  most  desirable  for  residences. 

Approaching  the  city,  all  roads  would  pass  over  the  Illinois 
Central  right  of  way,  which  is  of  ample  width.  Already  several 
important  street  crossings  on  the  Illinois  Central  have  been  sep- 
arated and  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  separate  others. 

The  three  branches  to  the  east,  namely  the  Champaign,  Dan- 
ville and  Indianapolis  lines,  are  not  a  serious  menace.  The  first 
two  named  would  bring  about  a  convenient  arrangement  for  the 
proposed  factory  district  and  in  fact  could  not  be  planned  better 


Sf 


^",-H^F 


mn 


:\tth 


lim 


±hi4±±rb:±t 


^^-k*rJ-- 


tttfc 


,■^3.. 


—I 


X 


'^ 


M 

be 

3 

0 

kl 

X 

Q 

be 

UJ 

B 

tn 

O 

« 

Q. 

0 

o 

o 

a: 

a. 

-c 

(0 

o 

z 

^ 

c 

o 

a 

I 

c 

tn 

E 

>:u 

"w 

-f"^ 

0 
0 

^5 

JZ 
V 

S 

_lc/) 

-0 

?<- 

a.S 

uJX 

a.S 

uu 

01 

ii 

O 

?2 

_J 

0  S 

_j 

-s,*^ 

«u 

u. 

U     X 

n 

"^  ° 

0  c 

a= 

u. 
n 

>1 

a: 

(Q     C 

a. 

«    ° 

-c   >> 

H.-S 

The  City  Practical  89 


as  to  alignment  for  this  ])urp()se.  The  C,  H.  &  I),  line  goes  through 
a  small  section  of  the  city  to  the  southeast  and  will  in  time  be 
more  serious  to  the  city.  This  line  could  be  carried  to  the  north 
and  across  the  present  Wabash  bridge  over  the  Sangamon,  thence 
through  the  city  over  the  Wabash  tracks.  This  change,  however, 
is  not  urg^ed  for  the  present. 

The  Kansas  City  branch,  according  to  this  plan,  would  leave 
the  present  location  just  east  of  Harristown  and  swinging  south- 
east by  the  belt  line  would  join  the  St.  Louis  division  at  a  point 
about  two  miles  from  Boody.  From  this  point,  it  would  combine 
with  the  St.  Louis  branch  swinging  northeast  and  joining  the  main 
line  of  the  Illinois  Central. 

The  disadvantage  of  course  in  this  scheme  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  Kansas  City  traffic  would  be  diverted  from  a  straight  line  and 
the  distance  to  the  city  increased  by  nearly  five  miles.  If  this  were 
a  trunk  line  like  the  St.  Louis  division,  this  change  would  l)e  seri- 
ous, hi  many  instances,  however,  railroad  lines  have  been  diverted 
in  this  way  to  bring  about  better  connection  to  the  city  and  we 
believe  that  the  advantages  would  far  outweigh  the  disadvantages. 

As  to  the  item  of  cost,  there  would  be  in  the  first  place,  no 
damages  to  pay  to  abutting"  ])roperty  owners.  The  total  cost  of 
the  improvements  would  be  approximately  $1,116,100.00.  Re- 
newals, repairs  and  other  credits,  would  amount  to  $741,250.00. 
leaving  a  net  improvement  charge  of  $374,850.00. 

This  change  would  eliminate  23  grade  crossings,  in  addition  to 
the  many  extra  crossings  that  would  ensue  in  the  development 
of  the  city  up  to  the  point  designed  l)y  the  city  ])lan.  The  present 
annual  cost  of  guarding  a  grade  crossing  may  be  conservativeh' 
placed  at  $2,600.00  or  a  total  of  $59,800.00  a  year  for  these  23  cross- 
ings. This  amount  capitalized  at  5%  would  amount  to  $1,19(),(H)0.00. 
or  in  other  words,  more  than  three  times  enough  to  take  care  of  the 
net  cost  of  the  im])rovement. 

At  present  ten  of  these  crossings  are  guarded,  which  fm  the 
above  basis  would  be  ecpuvalent  to  $520,000.00,  or  more  than  the 
cost  of  the  improvement. 

In  the  case  of  the  Peoria  ])ranch  of  the  Illinois  C'entral.  there 
would  l^e  involved  in  the  construction,  $210,000.00  against  which 


90 


The  Decatur  Plan 


The  Illinois  Central  Right  of  Way  Gives  Ample  Width  for  the  Proposed  Main  Group 
of  Railroads  Through  the  City 


could  be  charged  credits  amounting  to  $102,850.00,  bringing  about 
a  net  improvement  charg-e  of  $107,150.00.  This  change  would 
eliminate  12  grade  crossings  which  if  properly  guarded  would 
accrue  a  yearly  expense  of  $31,200.00.  The  amount  of  this  saving 
capitalized  at  57^  would  be  $624,000.00. 


RAILROAD  CROSSING  ELIMINATION 

Tt  is  proposed  to  raise  the  main  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  six 
feet  from  Prairie  Street  to  Eldorado,  thence  extend  on  level  grade 
to  Springfield  Avenue,  where  it  would  meet  the  present  grade. 
This  would  cost  about  $75,000.00  plus  bridges  and  subways  for 
main  line  work  and  would  give  subways  at  William.  Eldorado, 
Orchard,  Grand,  Division  and  four  ])roposed  streets  beyond  to 
the  north.  In  addition  there  would  be  subways  at  Prairie,  Deca- 
tur, Franklin,  and  South  Main  Streets  on  two  river  drives  and  on 
two  proposed  streets  to  the  south.  An  overhead  combined  cross- 
ing would  serve  Broadway  and  Wood  Street. 


The  City  Practical  91 


•••••••••••••■I 


The  A\'abash  line  would  be  raised  two  feet  at  jasper  Street  and 
up  to  new  grade  of  the  Illinois  Central.  Subways  would  be  provided 
at  Jasper,  Woodford,  Seventh  and  Eleventh  Streets  with  three  addi- 
tional on  proposed  streets  beyond. 

.  Seven  subways  would  be  installed  along  the  Champaign  branch 
of  the  Illinois  Central. 

On  the  C.  H.  &  D.  subways  would  be  placed  at  Eldorado,  Sev- 
enth and  North  William,  overhead  crossing  at  Wood  Street  with 
three  additional  subways  to  the  east. 

Three  subways  are  provided  on  the  Alattoon  l'>ranch  of  the 
Illinois  Central. 

The  above  sfives  a  total  of  fortA-  subwavs  and  three  viaducts. 


92  Tlic  Decatur  Plan 


TABLES  OF  ESTIMATES,  ALTERNATE  RAILROAD 

PROJECTS 

Cost   of   Track   Elevation   for   Wabash    Railroad   from    Decatur  Junction    East 

9.500  ft.  of  relainiriR  wall    @  $27.50     $    261.250 

150.000  yds.    fill    @     .   .50  75,000 

15,000  yds.   ballast    (a        .80  12.000 

25,000  ft.   track  taken   up   and   relaid @        .60  15,000 

7  bridges   @  30.000  210.000 

2.000  ft.  raised  east  of  I.  C 20,000 

Temporary   structures    150,000 

Total  from   Junction   east    $    743,250 


From  Decatur  Junction   to  Sangamon  River 

14,000   ft.  track  taken  up  and  relaid @        .60  $        8.400 

Ballast     10,000 

260,000  yds.   fill    @        .50  130.000 

4  Bridges    @  20,000  80,000 

Temporary    Structures    10,000 

Total  from  Junction  to  Sangamon   River $    238,400 


South  from  North  End  of  Sangamon  Bridge 

Sangamon   River   Bridge   and   raising $    250,000 

7000  ft.  track  taken  up  and  relaid    (n         .60  4.200 

Ballast    5,000 

80.000  yds.  fill  @        .50  40,000 

Total  from  North  end  Sangamon  Bridge   $    299,200 

Total   St.   Louis   Division   1,280.850 

Kansas  City  Division  Decatur  Jet.  West  125,000 

Grand   Total    $1,405,850 

Credit  Sangamon   Brid.ge   250.000 

Net  impro\ement  charge  $1,155,850 


Illinois  Central  Railv^fay  Warrensburg  to  Forsyth 

6  miles  main   line    @  $35,000      $210,000 

Credits 

4.7  miles  renewal  items  single  track @$1 5,500     $     72.850 

Right   of   way   abandoned    30.000 

Total  credit $    102.850 

Net   improvement   charge    $    107,150 

Save  12  grade  crossings,  capital  charge  at  57f   on  $2600  i)er  year  $    624.000 


The  City  Practical  93 


Cost  of  Cut  Off  St.   Louis  Division  Alone 

2.S   Miles   New   Double   Track   @  $48,500  $    121,250 

4.3  Miles  Additional  Double  Track  along  I.  C @    39,500  169.850 

Extending  4  subways   @    10,000  40,000 

Half  of  viaduct    100,000 

Widening   Sangamon   Bridge    175,000 

Grading    90,000 

Interlocker  and  tower   20,000 

Total     $   716,100 


Cost  of  Cut  Off  Kansas  City  Line  to  St.  Louis 
Line  Junction 

5.5  miles  single  track    @  $30,000  $    165,000 

Grading     90,000 

Sangamon   River   Bridge    125.000 

Interlocker    tower    20,000 


Total     $    400,000 

Total  cost  of  entire  Cut  Ofif   $1,116,100 

Credit 

Rail  renewal  6.3  miles  double  track  $81,900 

Ties  6.3  miles  double  track  66,150 

Spikes  and  fastenings  6.3  miles  double  track   9,450 

Laying  of  new  steel  and  ties  and  relaying  6.3  miles.  .  . .   37,800 

$    195,300 

New  double  track  Sangamon  Bridge   225,000 

Rail  renewal  6.4  miles  single  track  41,600 

Ties  6.4  miles  single  track 33,600 

Spikes  and  fastenings  6.4  miles  single  track 4,800 

Laving  new  steel  and  ties  and  relaying 19,200 

99,200 

12.7  miles  block  signal  apparatus  31,750 

Interlocking  tower  at  Decatur  Jet 20,000 

K.  C.  Branch  right  of  way 50,000 

St.  L.  Branch  right  of  way  120,000 


Total  credit $    741,250 

Net  improvement  charge   374,850 


94 


The  Decatur  Plan 


—•"•-•-•••a 


THE  UNION  STATION 

If  this  plan  is  adopted,  a  Union  Station  in  place  of  two  or  more 
stations  would  be  so  obviously  desirable  as  to  in  all  probal)ility 
lie  insisted  upon  by  the  municipality. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  matter  of  the  Union  Station 
from  the  standpoint  of  railroad  economics.  The  advantages  to 
the  traveling  public  are  equally  obvious.  Added  to  these  is  the 
fact  that  the  street  car  line  arrangement  may  be  made  far  more 
convenient  and  that  a  traffic  focal  point  may  be  had,  serving  not 
onlv  the  railroads  but  the  interurban  lines  and  local  electric  lines. 

The  adoption  of  the  foregoing  plan  of  railroad  rearrangement 
furthermore  makes  ])ossible  the  location  of  this  Union  Station,  at 
a  point  which  in  many  respects  will  add  to  the  convenience  and 
attractiveness  of  the  city  as  a  wdiole. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  present  station  locations  is  the  re- 
moteness from  the  business  and  hotel  district.  \\"e  have  therefore 
suggested  that  the  new  Union  Station  be  located  as  shown,  be- 
tween Washington  and  Jefferson  Streets.  At  this  point  the  Illi- 
nois Central  right  of  way  is  two  hundred  feet  wide.  The  land 
along  the  railroad  is  low  and  an  opportunity  is  offered  to  construct 
a  building  which  will  have  the  advantage  of  two  levels  with  ap- 
proaches to  station  ])lat forms  without  crossing  tracks.     The  loca- 


I'aasen^er    Stations 


The  Citv  Practical 


95 


••••^-••"•— I 


■*■—•'♦"•"•  ■■•"! 


tion  would  be  only  five  blocks  from  the  center  of  the  business  dis- 
trict or  about  one-half  distance  to  the  present  stations.  At  this 
site,  the  disadvantages  of  the  crossing  from  a  railroad  standpoint 
would  be  done  away  with. 

All  present  interurbans  or  those  which  may  in  the  future  enter 
the  city,  could  be  conveniently  handled  at  this  point. 

The  station  should  be  so  developed  and  placed  as  to  become,  in 
all  respects,  the  front  door  to  the  city.  Not  only  would  it  be  con- 
veniently placed,  but  its  environs  would  be  in  keeping  with  its 
character  as  a  civic  feature. 

Located  as  shown,  the  proposed  Union  Station  would  have  the 
crowning  advantage  from  a  city  standpoint  of  becoming  part  of 
the  proposed  civic  center.  Instead  of  being  surrounded  and 
hemmed  in  by  second  rate  shops  and  buildings  of  the  usual  char- 
acter, it  would  look  out  upon  a  harmonious  and  beautiful  group 
of  public  building's  adecpiately  set  off  by  parkings,  and  would  itself 
form  an  element  to  a  harmonious  scheme  of  architecture.  It  would 
therefore  have  the  two  the  prime  advantages  of  beauty  and  con- 
venience. 


Congestion  of  Tracks  at  Wabash  Station — The  City  Will  Soon  Demand   Better  Station  Facilities 


The  Cit\  Practical 


97 


FREIGHT  YARDS 

Tlic  present  freight  yards  and  team  tracks  of  the  citv  are  located 
to  the  southeast  of  Sangamon  Street  and  Broadway.  At  present 
there  is  handled  in  and  out  of  these  three  vards  approximately 
150,000  tons  of  less  than  car  load  freight  annually,  aside  from  a 
small  proportion  of  the  30.000  cars  of  car  load  freight  handled 
within  the  city  each  year. 

The  yards  are  scattered  over  appro.ximately  23  acres,  present- 
ing considerahle  loss  in  ground  efficiency  as  well  as  unnecessary 
overhead  costs  which  may  be  saved  by  unification. 

A  team  track  and  freight  house  layout  is  herein  presented  which 
would  have  the  following  capacitv: 

\andalia  Freight  House   25  cars 

Proposed   In  Bound  Freight  House 46  cars 

Proposed  Out  Bound  Freight  House 103  cars 

Proposed  Transfer  Tracks   90  cars 

Proposed  Teaming  Tracks 187  cars 

Total    451  cars 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA   FREIGHT   STATION    AND   SURROUNDINGS 

Here,   Under  the   Proposed    Plan,   an    Adequate    Freight   Terminal   Would    Be 

Installed,   to  Serve  the  City  for  Years  to   Come 


98 


The  Decatur  Plan 


PROPOSED  FREIGHT  STATION 
AND  TEAMING  YARD 

Decatur    Illinois 


The  City  Practical  99 


The  above  capacity  is  based  on  present  average  car  loads  with 
24  hour  period  of  handling.  This  is  about  four  times  the  capacity 
of  the  three  present  yards.  A  large  increase  in  handling  capacitv 
over  the  above  can  be  obtained  Ijy  working  extra  shifts,  bv  the 
use  of  electric  trucks  and  by  the  standardization  of  freight  cars 
which  is  rapidly  being  brought  about.  The  latter  would  allow 
the  elimination  of  the  island  platforms  provided  in  the  plan  and 
a  subsequent  50%  increase  of  track  space  to  the  freight  houses. 

The  location  of  the  yard  has  the  advantage  of  being  between 
the  business  and  factory  districts,  both  of  which  it  will  serve  con- 
veniently. The  space  now  occupied  by  the  railroads  south  of  the 
Wabash  tracks  and  north  of  Eldorado  Street  would  serve  as  vard 
room  for  coal,  building  material,  etc.  Only  one  and  one-half 
blocks  of  land  are  proposed  to  be  acquired  under  the  plan,  the  re- 
mainder now  lieing  owned  ])}•  the  railroad  companies. 

SUMMARY  OF  RAILROAD  CHANGE  BENEFITS 

By  carrying  out  the  above  recommendations,  the  following 
benefits  would  accrue  to  the  city: 

Five  and  one-half  miles  of  main  track  would  be  removed  from 
the  present  city. 

Fifty-seven  grade  crossings  would  be  abolished  within  the 
present  city. 

Nine  and  one-half  miles  of  main  track  and  168  crossings  would 
be  removed  from  the  city  as  shown  by  the  plan  for  future  plotting. 

All  main  line  grade  crossings  would  be  abolished. 

Unified  freight  house  and  team  track  facilities  would  be  given. 

Better  opportunities  for  interchange  of  freight  between  rail- 
roads would  be  afiforded. 

West  side  of  city  would  be  freed  from  railroad  lines  with  the 
exception  of  freight  sptir  along  present  factory  district. 

Gives  opportunity  for  im])ortant  diagonal  street  to  southwest 
over  present  Wabash  right  of  waw 

Provides  union  passenger  station  away  from  railroad  crossing 
and  at  a  point  which  will  cause  it  to  become  an  integral  part  of 
!:he  civic  center. 


Street  Car  dnd  Interurban  Transportdtion 

Proposed  Comprehensiue  System  of  Street  Car  Lines 
Discussion  of  the  Economy  of  the  Plan 
Inlerurban  Lines 
Station  Facilities 


STREET  CAR  AND  INTERURBAN 
TRANSPORTATION 

FOR  the  reason  that  street  car  Hues  are  generally  owned  and 
operated  by  private  companies  for  gain  and  for  the  reason 
that  their  service  is  paid  for  immediately  and  is  therefore 
constantly  forced  to  attention,  the  public  is  apt  to  look  upon  their 
operators  as  parasites  on  its  pocketbook,  and  upon  the  city's  power 
of  franchise. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  success  of  any  city  depends  very  largely 
on  its  public  street  transportation.  If  a  city  is  to  prosper,  if  it  is  to 
spread  out  and  grow  larger,  if  it  is  to  be  able  to  use  definite  sec- 
tions for  distinct  purposes,  ability  must  be  given  to  travel  between 
the  homes  and  places  of  business  with  regularity  and  speed. 

So  far  no  means  of  public  conveyance  on  a  comprehensive  scale 
has  taken  the  place  of  electric  surface  cars.  Street  car  systems 
have  become  as  much  the  part  of  the  organism  of  cities  as  have 
water  supply  or  sewer  systems.  No  city  plan  can  be  complete 
unless  a  proportionate  number  of  streets  are  laid  out  with  the 
definite  purpose  of  providing  for  street  car  lines. 

The  street  car  problem  presents  a  somewhat  different  aspect 
when  viewed  as  a  city  element,  from  that  when  looked  upon  as  a 
source  of  private  revenue.  The  test  for  the  public  is  in  providing 
within  easy  walking  distance  for  every  home,  car  lines  on  which 
there  will  be  frequent  and  rapid  transit  to  all  important  points 
within  the  city.  From  the  operating  standpoint,  the  most  suc- 
cessful line  is  the  one  which  gives  the  greatest  net  returns  to  the 
car  mile. 

The  citizen  wants  to  be  a])le  to  purchase  a  reasonable  priced 
lot  on  the  outskirts  on  which  he  may  develop  a  home,  and  still  l)e 
able  to  secure  regular  transportation  to  his  work,  which  may  be 
on  the  other  side  of  the  city. 

The  street  car  company  prefers  to  wait  with  the  extensions  of 
its  lines  until  fairly  dense  population  has  taken  place. 

Tt  is  to  the  interest  of  the  company  not  to  keep  pace  with  the 
geographical  growth  of  the  city,  whereas  it  is  much  to  the  interest 
of  the  city  that  the  development  of  car  lines  keep  ahead  of  city 
growth.     Where  this  does  not  take  place,  the  city  must  grow  up 


I04  //'<'  Di'catur  Plait 


in  the  air.  The  tenement  with  its  unhealthful  congestion  is  en- 
couraged and  the  private  home  of  the  ordinary  type  witi:  its  gar- 
den, its  sunlight  and  its  influence  toward  better  citizenship  is  dis- 
couraged. Herein  Hes,  if  not  an  argument  for  municipal  owner- 
ship, at  least  an  argument  for  thorough  control  by  the  municipal- 
ity of  the  layout  and  operation  of  street  car  lines. 

The  ideal  layout  of  car  lines  from  the  city's  standpoint  would, 
in  the  first  place,  provide  a  fairly  even  distribution  of  lines  over  the 
entire  citv,  spaced  so  that  every  home  would  be  within  convenient 
walking  distance  of  some  line  and  with  lines  kept  extended  well 
out  into  the  sparsely  built  up  sections. 

This  would  encourage  a  more  even  development  of  the  city,  the 
building  of  homes  on  larger  lots  and  would  have  a  considerable 
effect  on  stabilizing  land  values  over  the  entire  city. 

*In  the  city  of  Toronto,  Canada,  it  has  been  determined  that  a 
valuation  increase  of  68%  on  land  has  been  ])rought  about  by 
street  car  extensions.  Whereas  these  extensions  cost  but  6%  of 
the  increase  of  such  values  in  the  districts  served. 


PROPOSED  COMPREHENSIVE  SYSTEM  OF  STREET  CAR 

LINES 

The  proposed  car  line  system  which  would  serve  the  Decatur 
of  150,000  population  would  include  68  miles  of  track.  16  miles  of 
which  is  existing.  It  would  provide  transportation  either  direct  or 
with  but  one  transfer  from  an)-  part  of  the  city  to  the  business 
district,  factorv  district  and  L'nion  Station,  where  connections 
would  be  made  with  all  interurl)an  and  steam  lines. 

Spacing  is  such  in  the  outlying  districts  that  the  usual  distance 
of  a  car  line  from  any  home  would  not  exceed  two  thousand  feet. 
One  way  routing  would  be  adopted  in  ^^^ater,  Mn'm,  Jackson  and 
Edward  Streets  to  relieve  congestion.  By  this  plan  the  necessity 
for  the  old  transfer  station  at  Lincoln  Square  would  no  longer 
exist. 

The  arrangement  of  lines  and  routing  as  shown  on  the  accom- 
panying street  car  plan  would  be  as  follows: 


♦Report  Ontario   Housing  Committee  1919. 


c 


Tlic  City  Practical  iqc; 


Three  east  and  west  lines  and  three  nortli  and  south  Hnes 
through  factory  district. 

Inner  loop  over  Xorth.  Main,  Water,  Eldorado  and  through 
civic  center. 

The  above  routing  of  lines  would  bring  about  tlie  al)andonnH'nt 
of  4.1  miles  of  existing  track  as  follows: 

The  West  Orchard  line  from  Water  Street  to  the  ])resent  belt 
line  and  Condit  Street  line  from  ^^'ater  Street  to  Jasper  Street 
would  be  abandoned  to  give  a  direct  through  route  on  Grand 
Avenue  which  would  serve  the  factory  district  more  directh'. 

The  i)ortion  of  the  Condit  Street  line  on  Jasper  Street  would 
be  replaced  by  a  thrnugh  line  on  ^^'oodford  Street. 

The  line  on  Water  Street  north  of  Grand  and  on  Division  as  far 
as  Broadway  would  be  removed.  Instead,  a  line  would  be  carried 
east  on  Grand  and  north  on  Broadway.  The  change  in  view  of 
the  proposed  layout  would  give  better  distribution  and  save  one 
fourth  mile  of  track. 

That  portion  of  Edward  Street  line  on  Cerro  Gordo  Street  and 
the  portion  of  the  Eldorado  Street  line  on  North  and  William 
Streets  would  be  removed  to  relieve  heavy  traffic  on  Cerro  Gordo 
Street  and  to  ]M-ovide  a  direct  through  line  on  Eldorado  Street. 
This  would  give  more  direct  service  from  the  west  to  the  Stalev 
plant  and  would  do  away  with  the  awkward  detour  over  ^\'iIliam 
Street. 


DISCUSSION  OF  THE  ECONOMY  OF  THE  PLAN 

The  car  line  system  as  shown  can  be  built  with  reasonable 
assurance  that  it  will  be  a  paying  investment.  It  has  been  found 
in  cities  that  the  number  of  revenue  passengers  increase  at  double 
the  rate  of  increase  in  |)0])ulation.  Based  on  the  num])er  of  ])resent 
rides  per  ca])ita  in  Decatur,  these  will  increase  to  oOO  rides  per 
capita  before  a  population  of  150,000  is  reached. 

The  number  of  five  cent  fares  from  150,000  people  at  iSOO  rides 
per  annum  will  pay  38%  gross  revenue  on  an  investment  of  ^85,000 
per  mile  on  the  68  miles  shown  in  this  system.  \';iluation  engi- 
neers have  found  that  this  valuation  of  $85,000.00  per  mile  is  usual 
in  cities  having  a  population  of  from  100,000  to  150,000.     Such  a 


io6  Tlic  Decatur  Plan 


gross  revenue  based  on  present  operating  costs  is  a  paying  invest- 
ment. 

Extensions  to  lines  spaced  as  shown  can  be  carried  into  terri- 
tory having  hwi  five  peojjle  to  the  acre,  which  is  but  -^07^  average 
density.  The  number  of  fares  based  on  300  rides  per  capita  per 
annum  will  pay  interest  and  depreciation  on  the  additional  track- 
age and  equipment  needed  and  on  the  additional  cost  of  operation. 

INTERURBAN  LINES 

Interurl)an  lines  would,  according  to  the  plan,  be  routed  as 
follows : 

Line  from  the  west  would  enter  city  over  existing  track  with 
grade  crossings  abolished  to  a  point  north  of  Calvary  Cemetery, 
from  which  point  tracks  would  be  elevated  on  abandoned  Wabash 
right  of  wa\-  to  lllinuis  Central  Railroad,  l-'mni  this  point,  line 
would  be  carried  along  west  side  of  group  to  L'nion  Station. 

Line  from  north  would  abandon  present  right  of  way  at  edge 
of  plotted  area  and  would  cross  to  east  side  of  Illinois  Central, 
thence  extend  parallel  to  railroad  south  to  point  at  which  line 
ap])roaches  from  the  west,  where  it  would  again  cross  railroad 
and  continue  to  L'nion  Station. 

Line  from  east  would  ioin  that  from  north  at  Garfield  .Avenue. 


STATION  FACILITIES 

The  train  shed  for  interurbans  at  the  I'nion  Station  would  be 
at  the  north  side  of  structure  and  carried  over  the  low  level  street. 
The  possibility  of  a  future  interurban  line  from  the  sotith  has  been 
contemplated  in  the  station  arrangement. 

The  advantages  of  the  above  arrangement  would  be  primarih- 
to  give  rapid  transit  from  a  central  point  in  the  city  to  the  outskirts 
which  is  impossible  while  using  the  streets  as  at  present.  The 
streets  of  the  city  would  also  be  freed  from  congestion  due  to  inter- 
urban trains. 

By  bringing  all  interurlians  to  the  I'nion  Station,  a  central 
transfer  station  would  be  secured  between  all  steam,  interurban 
and  local  electric  lines. 


<The  Zoning  Plan 

Heauy  Industrial  Zone 

Light  Industrial  and  IParehouse 

Liqht  Industrial  and  Commercial 

First  Residential 

Second  Residential 

Park  Zone 

Cemeteries 


THE  ZONING  PLAN 

ACOMPREHENSR'E  plan  for  zoning  the  city,  including 
both  the  present  and  future  sections  in  Decatur,  is  submit- 
ted with  this  report. 
Zoning  is  desirable  only  as  by  it  the  various  departments  of 
the  city  may  be  made  to  profit.  To  force  zoning  upon  a  city  against 
economic  law  is  suicidal.  Tf  the  city  is  so  built  that  its  various 
departments,  factories,  businesses,  warehouses,  homes,  etc.,  will 
be  provided  satisfactory  arrangement  in  various  locations,  suffi- 
cient to  encourage  their  respective  upbuilding,  then  not  only  will 
these  departments  prosper  individually,  but  the  good  derived  from 
keeping  them  distinct  and  from  encroaching  on  each  other,  will 
be  accomplished. 

Zoning  must  be  comprehensive  to  be  worth  while.  Piecemeal 
zoning  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  old  practice  whereby  all  elements 
of  the  city  were  mixed  together  at  random.  The  only  difference 
being  that  the  proportions  are  larger. 

The  zoning  law  recently  passed  by  the  Illinois  Legislature  per- 
mits of  piecemeal  zoning,  but  there  seems  to  be  an  opportunity  to 
practice  comprehensive  zoning  under  this  law.  If  this  is  found 
to  be  true  and  providing  the  law  will  stand  the  supreme  court  test, 
a  great  step  forward  in  city  planning  within  the  state  will  be  ac- 
complished. 

The  Decatur  Zone  plan  calls  for  six  types  of  restricted  districts, 
as  follows: 

Heavy  Industrial 

Light  Industrial  and  Commercial 

Light  Industrial  and  Warehouse 

First  Residential 

Second  Residential 

Parks  and   Schools 


I  lo  The  Decatur  Plan 


HEAVY  INDUSTRIAL  ZONE 

This  comprises  tlie  proposed  factory  district  to  the  northeast  of 
the  city,  which  should  be  made  to  accommodate  all  new  industries 
like  foundries,  automobile  factories,  mills,  chemical  works  or  in- 
dustries of  like  nature,  which  would  be  objectionable  to  have  in 
close  proximity  to  homes.  It  is  probable  that  many  of  the  lighter 
industries  would  also  seek  this  location  on  accovmt  of  its  advan- 
tages. 

LIGHT  INDUSTRIAL  AND  WAREHOUSE 

This  would  include  the  present  factory  district  along*  the  Wa- 
bash railroad  and  also  along  the  Illinois  Central  to  the  south  of  the 
Junction,  with  an  added  area  near  the  freight  terminal. 

In  the  case  of  the  district  along  the  \\'abash,  the  aim  should 
be  to  keep  out  new  enterprises  of  heavy  manufacturing  and  to 
graduallv  work  toward  the  elimination  of  the  freight  line  which 
would  be  left  after  removing  the  main  line  of  the  Wabash  railroad. 

LIGHT  INDUSTRIAL  AND  COMMERCIAL 

This  district  would  ])ermit  all  luisiness  houses,  stores  both 
retail  and  wholesale,  office  Imildings  and  certain  types  of  light  and 
unobjectionable  manufacturing. 

Outlving  business  zones  are  placed  on  car  line  streets  and  at 
intersections  of  such  streets  and  are  designed  as  to  area  to  accom- 
modate the  city  for  forty  years.  Thereafter  the  zones  woidd  be 
allowed  to  extend  along  these  main  thoroughfares. 

FIRST  RESIDENTIAL 

This  would  be  restricted  to  the  use  of  dwellings  but  would 
allow  apartment  houses,  tenements,  hotels,  lodging  or  l)oarding 
houses  and  other  duplex  or  multiplex  residences. 

SECOND  RESIDENTIAL 

Restricted  to  private  residences,  including  single,  duple.x  or 
multiplex  houses  not  of  the  apartment  type. 


The  City  Practical 


III 


-••"•—••-•—•—•-••—•— 


PRESESr  APRANGEMtNT   OF 
TYPES    or   DEVELOPMENT 

DECATUR  ILUNOIS 


•'■^y 


I  12 


The  Decatur  Plan 


Looking  Down  Upon  the  Center  of  the  Business  District  from  an  Aeroplane 


PARK  ZONE 

Inchidiiii;"  llic  ])ark  and  school  ground  system  as  shown. 

All  ]M-(ii)osed  zones  shown  are  based  on  a  population  of  150.000. 
Intermediate  zones  should  be  fixed  by  ordinance  at  intervals  of 
possibly  ten  years. 


CEMETERIES 

While  not  classed  as  a  separate  zone,  the  general  location  of 
future  cemeteries  should  be  considered  in  advance.  By  the  time 
Decatur  shall  have  reached  a  population  of  150,000.  there  will  be 
needed  somewhat  over  two  hundred  acres  <>f  improved  cemetery 
land,  aside  from  that  now  available  for  use. 

Where  new  cemeteries  may  be  ])lace(l  and  how  tlie\-  shall  be 
imjiroved  and  maintained  is  a  matter  of  ])ublic  concern.  While 
the  modern  park  cemetery  under  perpetual  care  operation  is  a 
great  advance  over  the  old  time  graveyard,  new  cemeteries  are 
not  usuallv  welcomed  bv  nearbv  land  owners. 


«■•■■_«•■,__—££-'£, 


n 


The  City  Practical  113 


>■•••■•"•»•••••••• 


It  is  suggested  tliat  two  or  possibly  three  general  locations  be 
prescribed  in  advance,  in  which  cemeteries  may  be  installed.  These 
whether  built  by  the  city  or  by  private  concerns  should  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  park  strip  not  less  than  fifty  feet  in  width  and  suit- 
ably improved  and  so  parked  as  to  form  a  screen,  shutting  off  from 
view  the  cemetery  ])roper  from  surrounding  homes.  Such  pro- 
vision would  give  notice  to  prospective  property  buyers  of  the 
installation  of  a  cemetery  and  would  protect  the  outlook  from  resi- 
dences built  on  abutting  ground. 


Housing 


HOUSING 

IN  1913,  the  City  Council  of  Decatur  adopted  a  building  code 
which    compares    favorably    with   those   of   most    cities   in   the 

country.  The  code  was  carefully  prepared  and  goes  as  far  in 
protecting  the  citizens  of  Decatur  against  injury  and  disease  as  is 
probably  permissible  under  the  laws  of  Illinois. 

Like  nearly  all  building  codes,  it  covers  principally  such 
structural  requirements  as  will  insure  the  safety  of  buildings  from 
collapse  and  fire. 

The  newer  conception  of  good  housing  takes  cognizance  of  the 
need  of  building  control  to  insure  the  proper  circulation  of  air, 
amount  of  sunlight,  the  regulation  of  population  density,  the  satis- 
factory relation  of  buildings  mass  to  lot  area  and  the  location  of 
structures  with  relation  to  lot  lines.  Broadly  it  applies  not  only 
to  safety  but  to  comfort  and  to  the  protection  of  nearby  property 
as  well. 

The  housing  situation  in  Decatur  is  not  bad  compared  with 
many  industrial  cities  of  its  size.  It  is  decidedly  better  than  that  in 
most  of  the  larger  cities.  The  problem  of  better  housing  here, 
therefore,  lies  not  so  much  in  the  correction  of  present  conditions 
as  to  future  control. 

While  instances  were  noted  in  the  survey  of  the  city  which 
would  doubtless  be  corrected  in  the  event  of  the  adoption  of  a 
building  code  of  broader  scope,  these  instances  are  alarming  only 
as  they  point  directly  toward  a  condition  which  surely  will  take 
place  when  the  city  becomes  considerably  larger,  unless  provided 
against  now. 

The  transformation  from  ordinary  to  bad  housing  is  nearly 
always  insidious.  Rarely  does  it  take  place  quickly  and  in  a  whole- 
sale manner. 

As  new  industries  come  and  activities  increase,  houses  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  a  single  family  will  become  occupied  by 
two  or  more  families.  Basements  will  be  used  for  living  quarters 
and  cheap  dwellings  will  spring  up  on  back  lots  and  facing  alleys. 
The  tenement  will  come  and  therein  will  be  introduced  the  bane  of 
the  average  manufacturing  city. 


n8  The  Decatur  rian 


Decatur  cannot  hope  to  grow  in  size  without  absorbing  its 
proportion  of  comparatively  low  price  labor.  It  is  the  housing  of 
this  class  that  really  constitutes  the  big  problem. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  the  ordinary  workman  is  better 
housed  in  America  than  in  an}-  other  land.  To  a  very  large  extent, 
he  owns  and  takes  pride  in  his  home.  To  this  fact  and  to  the 
public  school  do  we  owe  to  a  very  great  extent  the  high  type  of 
average  citizenship  which  makes  America  supreme  among  nations. 
To  maintain  and  improve  this  situation  rather  than  to  permit  of  a 
retrograde  movement  is  manifestly  im])ortant. 

The  policv  for  future  housing  in  Decatur  should  be  to: 

(1)  Encourage  the  individual  home  built  on  ample  ground 
and  owned  by  its  occupant. 

(2)  Permit  the  construction  or  reconstruction  of  single 
homes  within  the  city  only  as  shall  insure  adequate  air 
circulation  and  sunlight. 

(3)  Permit  the  erecting  of  multiplex  dwellings  only  in  such 
manner  as  to  give  each  occupant  proper  amount  of  room, 
sunlight,  air  and  satisfactory  outlook. 

(4)  Limit  height  and  mass  of  all  dwellings  in  proportion  to 
size  of  lot. 

(5)  Limit  multii)lex  dwellings  of  apartment  type  to  restricted 
zones. 

(6)  Insure  against  population  density,  unsanitary  places  of 
abode  and  surroundings,  dwellings  on  alleys  and  the 
erection  of  homes  on  areas  subject  to  flood. 

(7)  Encourage  a  satisfactory  type  of  architecture  and  ar- 
rangement of  buildings  on  the  lot. 

We  recommend  the  passage  of  a  zoning  and  housing  ordinance 
which  will  establish  the  uses  and  restrictions  of  zones  as  set  forth 
by  the  plan  and  which  will  cover  matters  pertaining  to  improved 
housing.  This  ordinance  should  be  framed  only  after  a  careful 
consideration  of  other  zoning  ordinances  in  effect.  Among  other 
provisions  it  should  include  the  following: 

Allow  the  continuance  for  present  use  of  all  existing  buildings 
except  in  special  cases. 

Allow  no  building  now  existing  to  l)e  reoccui)ied  or  altered  for 


The  Cit\  Practical 


119 


occupancy  nor  any  new  building  to  be  erected  for  purposes  against 
which  the  district  is  restricted. 

Powers  should  be  given  the  Public  Service  Department  to  make 
the  following  exceptions  by  special  permit  where  such  are  nec- 
essary: 

Permit  the  erection  of  temporary  buildings  for  business  pur- 
poses in  the  residential  districts. 

Permit  alterations  not  to  exceed  75%  of  the  assessed  value  of 
the  building  for  purposes  against  which  the  district  is  restricted. 

Permit  the  reconstruction  of  buildings  destroyed  bv  fire  to  an 
extent  not  to  exceed  75%  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  building  for 
purposes  against  which  the  district  is  restricted. 

The  ordinance  should  further: 
Provide  for  maximum  height  of  buildings  in  the  various  zones 
or  portions  of  zones. 

Divide  the  city  into  area  districts  within  which  shall  be  regu- 
lated the  sizes  of  side  and  rear  yards,  outer  and  enclosed  courts, 
the  building  area  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  lots  and  the  set  back 
from  front  property  lines. 


One  of  the  Many  Examples  of  Neighborhood  Stores.  Placed  Forward  on  the   Building   Line,  and 
Marring  the  Appearance  of  the  Home  Section 


Parks 


Interior  Parks 

Johns  Hill 

A  Farmers  Headquarters 

Central  Park 

The  Bouleuard  System 

School  Parks 

Park  Design 


PARKS 

IN  CITY  planning,  parks,  playgrounds,  parkings  and  grounds  of 
various  sorts  used  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  public  should  be 

looked  upon  mainly  from  the  standpoint  of  area,  location  and 
accessibility  rather  than  that  of  landscape  detail.  The  park  sys- 
tem should  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  way  as  is  a  system  of  car 
lines  or  any  other  feature  necessary  to  the  city's  composition.  A 
park  system  is  an  adjunct  to  the  home  division  of  the  city.  It  is 
built  to  fulfill  a  definite  and  accepted  purpose,  that  of  making  the 
city  more  attractive  and  enjoyable  and  to  give  the  benefits  of  recre- 
ation. 

Incidentally,  parks  give  other  important  service,  such  as  the 
letting  into  the  city  of  sunlight  and  air,  not  an  unimportant  matter 
when  the  city  becomes  congested.  Parks  in  most  instances  en- 
hance the  value  of  contiguous  land  and  this  in  turn  increases  the 
city's  taxable  revenue.  Parks  serve  as  a  valuable  medium  for  ad- 
vertising the  city.  Many  cities,  ordinary  in  their  general  character, 
have  become  distinguished  on  account  of  their  parks  and  have 
profited  immeasurably  thereby. 

Beautiful  parks  go  far  toward  stimulating  civic  pride;  a  tonic 
without  which  no  city  may  be  normal.  Finally,  parks,  if  well 
placed,  well  designed  and  well  built,  give  the  crowning  visibile 
evidence  of  good  planning.  By  its  parking  is  a  city  tested,  not 
only  for  its  culture  and  good  taste  but  for  its  foresightedness  and 
good  business  sense.  No  city  can  afiford  to  be  poorly  parked,  as  no 
store  can  afiford  to  have  other  than  a  good  window  display. 

But  first  of  all,  parks  are  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  city's  inhab- 
itants. Therefore  they  should  be  placed  where  people  may  enjoy 
them  without  undue  inconvenience.  To  a  very  large  measure, 
parks  are  built  for  children — and  therefore  convenient  location  of 
park  units  becomes  doubly  important.  In  order  that  parks  may  be 
convenient  for  use,  they  must  be  placed  near  the  homes.  Units 
should  be  placed  with  more  or  less  geometrical  regularity  so  that 
zones  of  influence  of  fairlv  regular  size  mav  be  served.  It  has 
become  an  accepted  principle  in  city  planning  that  some  sort  of  a 
park  should  be  within  a  half  mile — comfortable  walking  distance — 
of  every  home. 


124 


The  F^ccntiir  Plan 


"•—■••■■■■■< 


-a 


c 


0 

a 
o 


T3 

c 
a 


0. 


v^    0 

0   o 


S  g 


bo  ' 


l1 


-SO.    £ 


4;    (0 


TJic  City  Practical  i. 


..•..•••«• 


Parks  naturally  group  themselves  according  to  their  size  and 
treatment  into  playgrounds,  school  parks,  central  parks,  neighbor- 
hood parks  and  scenic  parks.  The  treatment  and  furnishings  of 
these  various  kinds  of  parks  have  been  largely  standardized. 

Playgrounds  are  fitted  for  intensive  recreational  activities. 
Playfields  and  athletic  apparatus  are  installed.  Often  neighbor- 
hood center  buildings  with  gymnasiums,  concert  halls,  etc.,  are 
built,  and  trained  physical  instructors  placed  in  charge. 

School  parks,  first  of  all,  should  furnish  adequate  sites  for  school 
buildings  with  ample  room  for  extensions  thereto  without  its  later 
being  necessary  to  acquire  added  property.  In  addition,  they 
should  furnish  ample  room  for  both  organized  and  informal  play 
for  children  during  the  school  season  and  for  neighborhood  activi- 
ties during  the  remainder  of  the  year.  School  buildings  if  properly 
arranged  become  ideal  neighborhood  centers  where  various  social 
activities  may  be  held.  School  parks  should  be  not  less  than  a 
standard  block  in  size  or  approximately  four  acres  and  may  cover 
several  times  this  area  to  advantage.  The  school  park  properly 
developed  does  away  with  the  necessity  for  the  i)layground. 

Only  by  setting  aside  these  tracts  as  land  is  plotted  and  secur- 
ing them  for  the  public  while  they  can  be  purchased  at  reasonable 
price  may  economy  be  exercised  and  a  satisfactory  series  of  school 
parks  be  insured. 

Central  parks,  or  "down  town  parks,"  are  usually  too  limited 
in  size  to  permit  of  play  features.  They  are  primarily  rest  places 
provided  with  benches,  shade,  a  fountain  perhaps,  a  bandstand  and, 
where  possible,  flowers.  Downtown  parks  are  usually  susceptible 
to  better  arrangement  and  a  fuller  use  than  generally  accorded 
them.  Better  facilities  for  open  air  concerts  and  public  speaking, 
more  adequate  and  comfortable  seating,  more  toilet  and  rest  rooms 
and  better  landscape  treatment  can  generally  be  provided  to  ad- 
vantage. 

Neighborhood  parks  are  larger  in  extent,  embodying  some  of 
the  natural  treatment  of  the  still  larger  scenic  park,  but  are  ar- 
ranged more  especially  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  local  community. 
Baseball  fields,  tennis  courts,  swimming  pools,  facilities  for  tobog- 
ganing and  ice  skating  are  often  introduced. 

Scenic  parks  or  larger  outlying  units,  give  space  for  woodland. 


126 


The  Decatur  Plan 


Along  the  Sangamon 


meadow  and  waterway,  where  drives  and  jjicnic  i^rDunds,  i^olf 
courses  and  lakes  for  boating,  fishing  and  skating  may  be  furnished, 
a  place  where  the  freedom  and  lieauties  of  nature  may  assuage  the 
enervating  influence  of  city  life. 

These  various  park  units  should  supplement  each  other  as  to 
features.  As  for  instance,  a  park  with  a  swimming  pool  or  a  base- 
l)all  field  may  draw  from  a  larger  zone,  while  one  having  a  zoolog- 
ical garden,  a  conservatory  or  a  natural  history  museum  may  serve 
the  entire  city. 

Larger  park  units  where  possible  should  be  connected  by  park- 
ways or  boulevards,  which  in  reality  are  but  elongated  parks,  built 
for  driving  and  riding  and  suitably  ])aved,  planted,  lighted  and  fur- 
nished with  interesting  views  to  give  the  greatest  comfort  and 
pleasure  to  their  users. 

Parkwavs  should,  moreover,  wherever  possible,  lead  from  va- 
rious directions  to  the  center  of  the  city.  They  should  be  freed 
from  heavy  traffic  and  made  to  furnish  routes  for  light,  fast  moving 
vehicles.  This  makes  more  accesible  the  business  section  of  the 
city  and  largelv  relieves  the  congestion  and  danger  on  streets  where 
fast  and  slow  traffic  are  intermingled. 

It  is  generally  accepted  as  standard  that  there  should  be  a  ratio 
of  one  hundred  i)eople  to  each  acre  of  improved  park. 


The  Citv  Practical 


i-^: 


Decatur  at  present  has  182  acres  of  park  lands,  not  all  of  which 
are  improved.  With  a  population  of  43,818  there  is  given  a  ratio 
of  240  people  to  the  park  acre. 

The  park  plan  as  shown  calls  for  the  acquirement  of  2500  acres 
in  addition  to  the  182  acres  now  owned  hy  the  city.  \\'hile  this 
gives  a  ratio  of  55  people  to  the  acre  based  on  a  population  of 
150,000,  a  large  portion  is  outlying  ravine  and  river  bank  lands, 
which  will  in  turn  serve  a  still  greater  number  of  people.  Much 
of  this  land  should  be  secured  to  safeguard  the  city's  water  supply, 
while  other  land  along  the  ravine  should  be  taken  over  to  guard 
against  housing  development  on  areas  subject  to  flood. 

The  most  imposing  feature  of  the  proposed  parking  scheme 
would  be  these  outlying  reservations  extending  along  the  Stevens 
Creek  \^alley  and  the  ])anks  of  the  Sangamon.  These  are  areas 
of  natural  charm  to  the  ownership  of  which  the  ]niblic  of  Decatur 
has  the  right  to  aspire. 

The  valley  of  Stevens  Creek  is  particularly  valuable  for  a  park. 
On  each  side  are  lands  destined  to  become  high  class  residential 
sites.   The  valley  is  of  course  unsuitalile  for  residence  purposes  and 


STEVENS  CREEK  TERRITORY 
Ideal  Sites  for  Parks,  for  Future  Decatur,   Are  to  Be  Had  Along  This  Charming  Waterway 


128 


The  Decatur  Plan 


•••—••••••••• 


if  allowed  to  be  used  for  buildings  would  but  encourage  the  shacks 
and  undesirable  structures  always  found  in  such  places. 

Above  all,  this  bit  of  natural  beauty  should  not  be  despoiled. 
The  entire  valley  with  its  sloping  banks  and  a  narrow  strip  along 
their  crest  should  be  secured  for  public  use.  Curved  drives  as  pro- 
vided in  the  street  layout  would  carry  along  the  summits  giving 
admirable  views  up  and  down  the  valley. 

'Phis  reservation  would  begin  with  a  narrow  strip  directh- 
north  of  the  hospital  and  continue  to  the  junction  of  the  creek  and 
river.  Here  and  there  it  would  widen  out  to  include  some  espe- 
ciallv  desirable  tract  and  to  provide  room  for  golf  courses  or  other 
special  features  requiring  particular  shape,  topography  and  size. 
A  drive  would  lead  through  the  bottom  lands  connecting  with  im- 
portant streets  leading  across  the  valley.  This  drive  would  con- 
nect with  the  river  parkway  and  with  the  ])arkway  leading  around 
to  the  north  of  the  city. 

The  impounding  of  the  Sangamon  to  furnish  water  supply  for 
Decatur  makes  possible  yet  another  reservation,  which,  if  secured, 
will  add  tremendously  to  the  city's  beauty. 

A  generous  strip  of  land  along  each  bank  of  the  new  lake  should 
be  acquired,  along  which  a  driveway  w^ould  be  carried.  Generally 
this  park  strip  should  extend  w^ell  to  the  top  of  the  slopes,  leading 
to  the  water's  edge.     This  is  necessary  in  the  tirst  place  to  insure 


vaja^Tmik'ViBiwn^'mg/ 


m 


L'"*«!".*.«tl'-V5 


\^^ 


Wood  and  Meadow  Alcng  Stevens  Creek 


The  City  Practical  129 


against  the  pollution  of  the  water  supply,  and  to  enable  the  laying 
of  an  intercepting  sewer  along  this  boundary  road.  Only  by  con- 
trolling the  banks  in  this  way  can  the  reservoir  be  adequately  con- 
trolled. 

No  buildings  except  park  structures  should  be  built  between 
the  boundary  drives  and  the  water's  edge.  By  so  doing,  miles  of 
homes  may  front  the  lake,  obtaining  an  unobstructed  view  and 
presenting  an  attractive  appearance  from  the  lake  and  bordering 
parks. 

While  careful  regulation  will  doubtless  be  found  necessary  in 
the  use  of  the  lake  for  boating  and  fishing,  this  body  of  water  and 
the  flanking  shores  may  fittingly  become  Decatur's  great  place  of 
recreation  which  in  time  will  extend  through  a  large  section  of  the 
bivUt  up  city  and  will  be  used  daily  by  thousands. 

Below  the  new  dam  lies  a  mediumly  wide  and  flat  valley  through 
which  the  Sangamon  winds  sluggishly.  This  valley  is  subject  to 
overflow  and  has  therefore  been  kept  free  from  buildings.  It  would 
appear  that  as  the  city  grows  out  beyond  to  the  south,  this  land 
should  be  used  for  public  purposes,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to 
keep  it  from  being  sold  for  cheap  house  lots  and  built  upon.  De- 
catur has  ample  high  land  for  building  purposes  to  forestall  devel- 
oping homes  whereon  there  will  be  the  annual  menace  of  floods. 
Yet  it  invariably  happens  that  such  places  left  long  enough  even- 
tually sell  for  house  lots  and  are  built  upon  in  spite  of  the  obvious 
danger. 

While  the  flooding  of  these  lands  might  be  guarded  against,  by 
deepening  and  straightening  the  river,  they  would  never  be  satis- 
factory for  building  sites. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  a  dam  be  built  across  the  river  at 
the  intersection  of  Stevens  Creek  in  order  to  form  a  second  lake 
which  may  be  used  for  bathing.  It  would  hardly  seem  that  the 
benefits  would  warrant  the  expense.  A  number  of  swimming  pools 
could  lie  built  at  less  cost,  the  water  in  which  wouUl  be  more  sani- 
tary. Aside  from  bathing,  the  u])])er  lake  will  serve  all  necessary 
purposes  of  recreation. 

These  low  lands  for  man_\-  years  will  doubtless  be  of  more  value 
to  the  city  as  farms  and  market  gardens.  Later  the}-  mav  be  used 
for  aviation  landing  fields,  golf  courses,  school  gardens,  etc.    Their 


i.^^o 


The  Decatur  Plan 


acquisition  b}-  tlie  city  is  not  urged  at  present.  Many  years  will 
probably  elapse  before  tbey  will  be  needed,  meanwhile  steps  should 
be  taken  to  discourage  the  erection  thereon  of  buildings  of  per- 
manent character. 

INTERIOR  PARKS 

Aside  from  enlarg-ing  several  school  grounds,  the  plan  for  addi- 
tional interior  parks  contemplates  but  three  units,  namely  fortv 
acres  at  Garfield  and  \\'ater  Streets,  Johns'  Hill,  sixteen  acres  of 
which  would  become  a  school  park,  and  the  small  tract  lying  along 
the  railroad  south  to  Prairie  Street  consisting  of  about  six  acres. 
These  areas  would  care  for.  in  a  fairly  satisfactory  wav,  the  j^resent 
unparked  sections  of  the  city. 

The  first  tract  mentioned  is  especially  needed.  This  section  of 
the  city  has  no  park  at  ]iresent.  The  land  is  possessed  of  natural 
advantages  and  is  large  enough  to  serve  the  neighborhood.  This 
land  has  been  subdivided  and  it  is  apparent  that  there  can  l)e  no 
delay  if  the  city  is  to  secure  it  for  park  purposes.  (Provided  it  is 
found  imi)racticable  to  secure  the  tract  in  question  that  Iving  im- 
mediately to  the  north  although  somewhat  more  remote  would 
serve. ) 


Beautiful   Native  Forests  May  Still  Be  Found  in   the  Environs  of   Decatur.    Where   Possible.   Such 
Land  Should  Be  Taken  Over  Before  It  Is  Despoiled  by  the  Constant  Advance  of  the  City 


The   City  Practical 


I  U 


JOHNS  HILL 

This  hill  with  its  excellent  views  calls  for  consideration  in  any 
park  study.  A  park  unit  is  needed  in  this  locality.  The  location  of 
the  proposed  junior  high  school  here  would  alone  give  sufficient 
reason  for  its  acquirement. 


Johns   Hill,  One  of   Decatur's   Landmarks.    Forms   a   Desirable   Site   for  a   School   Park 


A  FARMER'S  HEADQUARTERS 

Tt  is  suggested  that  some  ])lace  he  arranged  in  Decatur  where 
farmers  mav  make  their  heruhpiarters,  while  in  town,  wlicre  they 
mav  leave  their  cars  or  teams,  where  their  families  may  rest  and 
lunch  and  where  telephone  service  may  be  provided. 

There  would  be  needed  a  sufficient  area  for  automobile  parking 
and  to  furnish  room  for  a  suitable  building.  Such  a  place  would 
probably  be  used  to  some  extent  by  tourists.  It  would  form  a  suit- 
able headquarters  for  the  farm  bureau  and  would  be  to  some  extent 
useful  to  the  citizens  of  Decatur. 

Not  many  sites  are  available  for  such  an  institution.  Room 
could  probably  l^e  found  in  the  proposed  civic  center,  but  it  is  sug- 
gested that  the  vacant  site  south  of  Prairie  and  east  of  the  Illinois 
Central  be  considered.  While  separated  from  the  business  center 
by  the  railroad,  the  underpass  on  Prairie  Street  removes  largely 
the  objection  on  this  account.  A  portion  of  the  hill  would  have  to 
be  cut  down  to  permit  of  the  building,  but  the  major  part  would  be 
left  as  a  screen  to  shut  off  the  railroad. 

The  remainder  of  the  grounds  could  be  arranged  fur  ];lay  pur- 
poses with  field  apparatus,  a  children's  playground,  and  possibly 


13^ 


The  Decatur  Plan 


••••-••••■-••••■-•■•••••"••■•■• 


a  swimming-  pool  which,  thus  centrally  located,  would  serve  the 
entire  downtown  section. 

CENTRAL  PARK 

While  somewhat  out  of  the  scope  of  this  report  we  are  submit- 
ting a  suggested  rearrangement  for  Central  Park.  There  would 
be  provided  an  out-of-doors  forum  which  would  accommodate 
several  thousand  people  and  give  an  unobstructed  view  of  the  plat- 
form from  which  public  speeches,  concerts  or  theatricals  could 
be  given.  The  introduction  of  water,  shade  and  flowers  is  sug- 
gested and  i)ul)lic  toilet  stations  should  be  provided. 

The  natural  slope  of  the  ground  to  the  east  makes  possible  the 
carrving  out  of  this  plan  with  comparatively  little  grading.  The 
theater  would  be  placed  at  the  east  side  of  the  park  on  the  axis  of 
Prairie  Street  but  far  enough  back  from  the  street  line  to  provide 
for  a  planting  screen  which  would  make  possible  the  entrance  to 
the  stage  unobserved  by  the  audience. 

The  park  rearranged  in  this  manner  would  give  much  broader 
use  than  at  present,  at  which  time  it  furnishes  little  more  than  a 


Central   Park,   m  the   Midst  of  Decatur's   Business  Section,   as  Viewed   from   an    Aeroplane 


The  Cif\  Practical 


•••••••-•■•••■••• 


'••••••••••••••I 


133 


—••■••••■■••■••■••• 


-J 


M/'/JIA/VifJ 


'\     %     r 


\    I 


c 


134  TI'C  Decatur  Plan 


shaded  retreat.  Concerts  given  in  the  little  Ijandstand  are  cramped 
affairs  l)()th  for  the  musicians  and  the  audience.  A  centrally  located 
out-of-doors  auditorium  of  this  kind  would  fulfill  a  long  felt  need 
in  Decatur. 

THE  BOULEVARD  SYSTEM 

An  important  element  of  the  general  park  ])lan  is  a  continuous 
])arkwav  extending  completel\-  around  Decatur.  Following  along 
the  river  hank  and  to  the  north  and  east  along  Stevens  Creek  it 
again  connects  with  the  river  drive  north  of  the  Wabash  Railroad 
Bridge.  This  would  form  a  driveway  of  twenty  miles  in  length, 
over  which  there  would  he  a  continuous  diversity  of  scenery.  In- 
tersecting this  circumferential  parkway  would  he  various  radial 
parkways  reaching  to  the  center  of  the  city. 

Tt  is  desirable  that  the  heart  of  the  city  may  thus  be  approached 
from  various  directions  by  light,  fast  moving  traffic  without  inter- 
ference l)y  heavy  teaming,  hut  on  the  other  hand  considering  the 
economic  importance  of  heavy  trafiic  to  a  city,  it  is  necessary  to 
go  slowly  in  the  matter  of  restricting  the  use  of  thoroughfares. 
We  have,  therefore,  suggested  such  streets  for  parkways  as  may 
be  best  spared  and  along  which  there  are  parallel  lines  for  heavy 
teaming. 

SCHOOL  PARKS 

Twenty-seven  school  parks  have  been  designated  on  the  gen- 
eral plan.  These  average  approximately  four  acres  in  extent.  Tn 
all  cases  they  are  placed  away  from  car  lines  and  generally  off'  from 
main  traffic  streets.  They  are  so  distributed  as  to  each  have  a  zone 
of  influence  of  one-half  mile  radius. 

A  suggestion  is  submitted  for  a  typical  school  park  layout. 
The  main  idea,  of  course,  is  to  cause  the  park  and  the  school  to  co- 
operate in  their  usefulness  to  the  neighborhood. 

An  eight-room  building  is  shown  ca])able  of  acconnnodaling 
320  pupils  and  with  provision  for  extension  to  take  care  of  an  addi- 
tional 320  pupils,  or  640  in  all,  the  average  number  for  a  s(|uare 
mile  of  mediumly  built  up  residence  district. 

The  site,  four  acres  in  extent,  is  arranged  for  pla\grounds,  ten 
nis,  garden,  a  lawn  oval,  set  off'  by  a  i)ergola,  which  would  furnish 
a  stage  for  open  air  entertainments,  a  |)erennial  garden,  wading" 
pool,  drinking  fountain,  benches,  etc.    Ample  lawn  and  shade  give 


f-  a 


-0-0 

c  « 

3  • - 
0    3 


u> 


a 


-a  a 
=  1 

V    &X1 


&c  u 

.2     &i 


P,     00 


136  Tlic  Decatur  Plan 


••••••••••••■ 


attractive  setting  to  the  building  in  which  may  be  provided  the 
assemblv  hall,  club  rooms,  toilets,  kitchens,  etc..  necessary  to  a 
well  appointed  neighborhood  center. 

PARK  DESIGN 

Art  in  landscape  depends  on  the  application  of  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  does  art  in  painting,  in  architecture  or  in  house  decora- 
tion. These  principles  apply  to  mass,  form,  color  and  proportion 
and  not  to  personal  whim.  The  best  artists  of  all  kinds  and  times 
have  bowed  to  the  inflexible  rules  which  make  for  beauty  in  all 
things,  although  it  is  true  that  from  time  to  time  schools  as  well 
as  individuals  have  broken  away  from  these  tried  and  proven  rules 
and  have  attempted  to  set  up  a  new  art,  only  to  be  forgotten  along 
with  their  works. 

A  park  cannot  be  made  beautiful  by  filling  its  area  to  over- 
flowing with  gew-gaws,  more  than  a  room  may  be  made  beautiful 
by  filling  it  with  bric-a-brac.  A  park  must  have  proper  mass  of 
foliage,  water  and  lawn,  proper  color  balance,  which  may  be  so 
very  easily  wrecked  by  an  irrelevant  geranium  bed,  a  golden  elder 
or  a  blue  spruce,  and  proper  form,  whether  it  be  of  the  horizontal 
or  vertical  curve,  of  a  driveway  or  the  terrace  to  a  garden.  Let  a 
park  be  built  in  a  way  to  disregard  these  rules  of  art,  and  while 
onlv  the  trained  artist  may  be  able  to  diagnose  and  correct  the 
trouble,  there  will  be  even  to  the  slightly  cultured  a  subconscious 
feeling  that  something  is  wrong. 

But  parks  should  not  only  be  beauty  places,  full  sized  landscape 
paintings  with  real  water,  trees,  hills,  and  flowers  used  as  pigments 
and  fulfilling"  the  best  in  art  either  as  viewed  from  the  outside  or 
tested  hv  an  interior  vista,  but  they  must  fulfill  the  test  of  prac- 
ticability and  everyday  use.  Every  square  foot  of  park  surface 
should  be  arranged  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  people.  But 
again,  should  a  park  be  well  balanced  as  concerning  its  facilities 
for  use?  A  park  may  demand  drixcways.  but  they  should  be  kei)t 
within  bounds  and  not  led  here  and  there  and  everywhere  with- 
out reason,  to  the  efl:'ect  of  destroying  lawn  space  often  of  far 
greater  importance  than  the  drives  themselves. 

Common  sense  and  an  appreciation  of  the  eternal  fitness  of 
things  must  alwavs  go  far  in  the  building  of  a  successful  park. 


Schools 

Hiqh  School 
Junior  High  School 
Pugh  School 
Oakland  School 
Riuerside  School 
Ulrich  School 
Qastaan  School 
Roach  School 
IParren  School 
Jasper  School 
Dennis  School 
French  School 


SCHOOLS 

THERE  are  at  present  in  Decatur  sixteen  public  schools,  hav- 
ing a  total  enrollment  of  nearly  seven  thousand  students. 
The  grounds  on  which  these  schools  are  situated  occupy 
about  twenty-five  acres.  The  following  table  shows  enrollment, 
total  area,  available  playground  space,  percentage  of  playground 
space  to  the  child  and  the  estimated  population  density  of  the 
neighborhood : 


Enroll-  Total  Play  Square   Feet      Density 

Schools  ment  Area  Ground  Play   Area      of  Neigh- 

Square   Feet  Area  a   Child  borhood 


High   School    1,261  49,928 

Junior  High    528  45,315  12,000  21.7 

lasper    339  43,425  41,100  122.0  957r 

Roach    393  80,034  60,450  154.0  507c 

French     299  51,876  32,531  109.0  857f 

Dennis     189  73,080  71,580  379.0  40% 

Oakland    334  30,456  18,456  55.3  857o 

Riverside    319  32,400  17,400  54.6  50% 

Marietta   (Lincoln)    330  61,456  43,456  132.0  85% 

Ulrich    393  30,000  20,000  50.8  85% 

Warren    432  41,300  31,300  72.6  90% 

Oglesby     186  164,688  154,686  832.0  10% 

Pugh    565  156,200  133,700  237.0  85% 

Durfee     572  122,850  64.350  112.0  75% 

Gastman     399  22,176  9.676  24.2  90% 

Jackson     400  63,020  43,020  108.0  80% 

Total     6,939  1,068,204  753,705  2,464.2 

Total  area  occupied  by  schools,  24.5  acres. 

Average  amount  of  play  space  to  the  child,  108.5  scjuare  feet. 


In  connection  with  the  schools,  the  city  plan  is  concerned  chiefly 
in  the  matter  of  providing  adequate  space  and  in  fixing  the  loca- 
tion of  new  sites  to  take  care  of  the  school  system  as  the  city  de- 
velops in  size. 

Proposed  school  sites  in  outlying  plotting  are  designated  on 
the  plan  and  are  dealt  with  in  the  subject  of  parks. 

Further  consideration  should  be  given  to  the  matter  of  en- 
larging school  sites  which  are  manifestly  inadequate  in  size.  It 
is  held  by  authorities  that  at  least  one  hundred  square  feet  of  avail- 


140 


The  Decatur  Plan 


A. 


lannt 


"□DDDBCSC 

,jinS[5.,.,. 

(     if 


MClSO/t  O*^* 


CHART  OF  EXISTING 
PARKS  f^PUBUC  SCHOOLS 

DECATUR     ILLINOIS 


The   Above   Chart   Shows   Recommended   Extensions   to    Present   School   Grounds 


Tlic  City  Practical  14.1 


al)le  ])lay  area  is  needed  for  each  child  in  attendance  at  tlie  school 
This  being  aside  from  space  devoted  to  lawns,  flower  beds  and 
other  restricted  places  wdiere  children  are  barred  from  playing. 

This,  however,  does  not  entirely  meet  the  situation,  vmless  the 
district  from  which  the  school  draws  its  pupils  has  reached  its 
maximum  density  of  population,  otherwise  there  is  alwavs  a  pos- 
sibility that  the  school  building  will  have  to  be  enlarged,  thereby 
cutting  down  the  present  play  space.  Indeed,  the  tendency  is  to 
secure  more  land  for  schools  than  would  give  the  above  standard. 

Many  cities  are  refraining  from  erecting  grade  schools  on  less 
than  a  full  city  block,  where  the  blocks  measure  about  five  acres. 
Some  cities,  as  for  instance.  Gary,  Indiana,  are  l)uilding  schools 
on  not  less  than  twice  this  area. 

It  is  however  manifestly  out  of  the  (piestion  for  an^■  cit\-  of 
the  ordinary  financial  condition  to  enlarge  its  |)resent  school  sites 
to  meet  these  demands.  To  enlarge  the  average  school  site  means 
to  acquire  contiguous  lots,  often  times  improved  with  costly  build- 
ings. It  therefore  becomes  a  project  which  must  be  undertaken 
with  extreme  conservatism. 

Recommendations  have  been  made  recently  by  the  business 
manager  of  the  Decatur  school  system,  Mr.  Kinkade,  taking  xip 
in  detail  the  apparent  need  of  each  school  with  respect  to  ground 
enlargement.  Our  report  is  made  independently  but  coincides  to 
a  considerable   extent   with   Mr.   Kinkade's   recommendations. 

Taking  up  the  schools  in  sequence,  we  would  advise  as  follows: 

HIGH  SCHOOL 

While  play  grounds  such  as  are  built  for  grade  schools  are  not 
needed  at  the  high  school,  there  is  need  for  plenty  of  space  sur- 
rounding such  a  building.  First  of  all,  there  should  be  adeijuate 
setting  for  the  building. 

The  Decatur  high  school  suffers  in  this  regard.  Any  building 
of  a  public  nature,  as  costly  and  presenting  as  good  design  as 
Decatur's  high  school,  should  have  enough  vacant  land  surround- 
ing it  to  present  the  building  to  view  to  the  best  advantage.  Again 
there  is  a  psychological  reason  whv  a  suitable  environment  should 
surround  the  high  school  in  which  boys  and  girls  of  the  impres- 
sionistic  age   are   in    attendance.      There   should   be   given    space 


142 


TJn-  Decatur  Plan 


enough  around  the  Iniilding  to  permit  of  a  dignified,  restful  and 
beautiful  landscape  treatment. 

In  connection  with  any  high  school,  there  should  furthermore 
be  provided,  a  well  equipped  athletic  field  for  the  use  of  both  boys 
and  girls.  This  should  include  a  running  track,  baseball  and  foot- 
ball fields,  tennis  courts,  jumps,  athletic  ajjparatus,  bleachers  and 
other  paraphernalia  necessary  for  athletic  events  and  to  accom- 
modate spectators.  Such  a  field  may  properly  be  placed  at  some 
distance  from  the  school  as  will  be  necessary  in  Decatur. 

^^'e  recommend  that  the  remainder  of  the  block  on  which  the 
high  school  is  now  situated  be  secured. 


JUNIOR  HIGH   SCHOOL  AND   DECATUR   HIGH   SCHOOL 
Practically  No  Space  Was  Provided  Around  These  Buildings  for  Recreation  or  for  Adequate  Setting 


The  athletic  field  could  be  placed  on  the  proposed  park  at 
Garfield  and  Water  Streets,  where  ample  room  would  be  afforded 
for  a  thoroughly  adequate  and  modern  equipment  and  where  the 
topographv  of  the  ground  is  excellent  for  the  purpose. 

JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

We  recommend  the  consideration  of  three  new  sites  for  Junior 
High  .Schools  aside  from  the  new  Pugh  School.  The  first  lieing 
at  the  proposed  site  on  Johns  Hill,  the  second  near  the  Oakland 
School  and  the  third  in  the  newly  plotted  area,  northwest  of  the 
proposed  factory  district. 

(Consideration  has  been  given  to  the  location  of  a  Junior  High 


TIic  City  Practical  143 


on  the  site  of  the  Durfee  School  at  Grand  and  Jasper  Streets.  This 
however  does  not  seem  satisfactory,  for  the  reason  that  in  case 
of  the  carrying  out  of  the  factory  district  project,  this  section 
would  naturally  tend  to  light  industries,  warehouses  and  the  like, 
thereby  robbing  the  school  of  its  tributary  population. 

The  location  of  the  present  Junior  High  at  Eldorado  and  Broad- 
way we  believe  to  be  unsatisfactory,  both  from  the  standpoint  of 
tributary   population  and   proximity   to   railroads  and   industries. 

A  Junior  High  School  should  be  placed  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  the  center  of  a  group  of  grade  schools,  in  turn  serving  a  rather 
distinct  section  of  the  city.  In  case  new  schools  are  built  as  sug- 
gested above,  it  would  probably  be  wise  to  abandon  the  old  Junior 
High  and  dispose  of  the  property. 

PUGH  SCHOOL 

The  grounds  of  this  school  are  ample  in  size  and  should  not 
be  encroached  upon  by  the  New  Junior  High.  We  concur  in  Mr. 
Kinkade's  suggestion  to  secure  lots  on  Leafland  and  Grand 
Avenue,  thereby  giving  necessary  room  for  the  grounds  of  the 
new  building. 

OAKLAND  SCHOOL 

This  school  occupies  a  space  160x188  feet,  giving  but  55.3 
square  feet  of  play  space  to  the  child,  ^^'e  recommend  that  the 
school  board  acquire  propertv  to  the  mirth  and  including  the  rest 
of  the  half  block. 

RIVERSIDE  SCHOOL 

This  school  is  located  in  a  rather  s]:)arsely  settled  district  which 
however  bids  fair  to  rapidly  increase  in  density.  If  allowed  to  re- 
main where  it  is.  the  entire  block  should  be  taken,  which  in  this 
case  would  give  onh-  72,000  square  feet.  More  land  could  l)e 
secured  to  the  south,  taking  the  next  entire  block  and  closing 
Lincoln  Street.  We  believe,  however,  that  a  better  arrangement 
would  be  to  abolish  Riverside  School  as  well  as  Jackson  School, 
three  blocks  away  and  combine  these  on  the  new  grounds  at  Johns 
Hill,  where  the  sixteen  acre  school  park  proposed  would  adequately 
accommodate  the  grade  pupils  of  ])oth  districts. 


144 


The  Decatur  I'lan 


The  Jackson  School  situated  as  it  is,  near  the  railroad,  is  re- 
stricted as  to  its  drawing-  territory.  \\\i\\  a  modern  plant  at  Johns 
Hill,  accommodating-  territory  as  far  as  the  railroad  and  for  a  half 
mile  to  the  south  and  east  and  with  a  new  school  site  directly 
northeast  of  the  Country  Club,  a  better  distribution  would  be 
obtained. 

ULRICH  SCHOOL 

We  recommend  to  acquire  the  remainder  of  the  block,  or  failing 
to  do  this,  to  acquire  the  rest  of  the  half  block  as  far  as  Morgan 
Street. 

GASTMAN  SCHOOL 

This  school  we  believe  should  be  abolished  for  school  purposes, 
although  it  could  serve  well  as  an  administration  ])uilding  for  the 
school  board.  Tt  is  on  the  very  edge  of  the  district  being  shut  ot^' 
on  the  east  bv  business  houses.  This  school  draws  a  number  of 
pupils  from  the  territory  lying  to  the  east  of  the  business  district 
and  between  it  and  the  Illinois  Central  railroad.  We  believe  it 
would  be  better  to  enlarge  the  Jasper  School  facilities  for  these 


Scant  Room  for  Play  at  One  of  Decatur's  Schools 


TJh-  City  Practical  143 


••••••••••"•"•"•* 


pupils  or  in  case  the  old  Junior  High  School  be  not  removed,  use  it 
for  this  section,  thereby  doing  away  with  the  necessity  of  having 
the  children  cross  the  business  district  to  the  Gastman  School. 

A  new  school  should  be  located  further  to  the  west  where  it 
covdd  serve  the  district  better. 

ROACH  SCHOOL 

This  school  at  William  and  North  Fourth  Streets,  while  occupy- 
ing fairly  comfortable  (|uarters  at  present,  will  in  all  probability 
be  crowded  in  a  very  few  years.  The  neighborhood  is  not  over 
50%  density  and  the  enrollment  of  the  school  will  probably  be 
more  than  double  in  the  next  ten  or  twelve  years.  This  situa- 
tion is  made  apparent  bv  the  portable  building  already  on  the 
ground.  The  securing  of  the  rest  of  the  block  on  which  the  build- 
ing stands,  should  be  considered. 

WARREN  SCHOOL 

The  building  will  probably  have  to  l)e  re])laced  in  the  next  few 
years.  Fortunately,  the  district  has  practically  reached  its  max- 
imum densitv.  at  least  until  ai)artment  houses  crowd  out  the  indi- 
vidual homes.  This,  however,  is  not  impossible,  considering  the 
industrial  development  which  is  apt  to  take  place  directly  to  the 
east.  If  this  site  is  enlarged,  it  would  seem  logical  to  extend  the 
grounds  to  the  north  on  a  line  with  the  present  west  line  of  the 
propertv.  This  would  remove  eight  houses  and  would  be  a  some- 
what costly  undertaking. 

JASPER  SCHOOL 

This  school  at  present  occupies  nearly  the  whole  block.  The 
building  lots  remaining  are  ])oorl)-  arranged  and  the  school  as 
well  as  the  neighborhood  would  be  improved  by  taking  the  re- 
mainder of  the  block  for  school  ])urposes. 

DENNIS  SCHOOL 

While  there  is  shown  a  ratio  of  379  square  feet  to  the  child 
at  this  school,  the  neighborhood  has  only  about  40%  density.  The 
l)uilding  is  so  placed  as  to  give  a  good  foreground,  but  does  not 
give  satisfactory  space  for  playgrounds.  The  site  should  be  ex- 
tended east  to  take  in  ap])roximately  twice  the  present  area. 


146  The  Decatur  Plan 


FRENCH  SCHOOL 

^^'e  recommend  the  extension  of  this  ground  to  the  west,  tak- 
ing the  remainder  of  tlie  half  block. 

The  grounds  of  nearly  all  schools  in  Decatur  could  be  im- 
proved by  planting  and  the  installation  of  playground  equipment. 
Each  site  should  be  studied  and  a  carefully  drawn  ground  plan 
prepared.  Considerable  work  of  improvement  could  be  accom- 
plished bv  the  pupils  under  proper  direction. 


Q'he  Civic  Center 


Post  Ogice  Site 
Central  Park  Site 
IPashinqlon  Street  Site 
The  Ciuic  Center  Plan 


THE  CIVIC  CENTER 

THE  primary  reason  for  city  planning"  in  general  and  the 
particular  reason  for  the  Decatur  plan  is  based  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  city  is  to  grow  larger.  If  this  is  true,  there  is 
no  fact  more  clear  than  that  the  public  buildings  now  serving  the 
city  will  in  time  become  inadequate  and  will  have  to  be  replaced  bv 
larger  structures.  This  has  been  the  repeated  history  in  other 
cities  as  w^ell  as  Decatur  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
conditions  will  change  in  this  respect  in  the  future. 

The  fallacy  of  waiting  until  the  last  moment  before  selecting 
sites  for  public  buildings  has  been  demonstrated  times  without 
number.  There  invariably  occurs  factional  strife  and  jealousies 
and  the  inevitable  happens  that  some  particular  site  is  selected, 
usually  inadequate  in  size  and  often  in  such  a  location  as  to  have 
small  possibilities  for  approach  and  setting  for  the  costly  build- 
ing to  be  erected.  SufHcient  room  is  rarelv  provided  for  future 
extensions  and  in  a  decade  or  so  the  same  process  is  apt  to  be  re- 
peated. 

By  the  selection  in  advance  of  an  ample  area,  pro])erl\-  located, 
on  which  public  buildings  as  they  are  needed  may  ])e  installed 
harmoniously,  not  only  is  the  city  provided  with  a  beautiful  fea- 
ture which  will  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  the  citizens  and  of  adver- 
tising value,  but  room  will  be  provided  for  additions  as  they  are 
needed. 

Assuming  that  such  a  grou])  of  public  buildings  is  desired,  the 
matter  of  location  immediately  presents  itself.  There  appear  to 
be  three  possible  locations  for  a  civic  center  in  Decatur. 

POST  OFFICE  SITE 

The  first  would  use  as  a  nucleus,  the  present  post  office  and 
librar}-.  Around  these  could  ])e  grouped  other  public  buildings 
which  might  in  turn  be  connected  with  the  present  stations  or  a 
union  station  by  an  avenue  or  plaza. 

The  chief  advantage  of  this  scheme  would  be  the  utilization  of 
the  two  buildings,  namely  the  post  office  and  library,  both  excel- 
lent examples  of  architecture. 


' 

" 

- 

-' 

J  i- 

''■*'» 


■-.  * mft 


T  -  ■-  -■      -| 


nDi 


j^-4Mtof*--i- 


l»      i 


'ii 


"w  nr 


=  1 


ir — *;  ^p—^ 


>^-   '^ 


W* 


.^rfp*:! 


■*. 


;i  iL 


Proposed  Location  and  Arrangement  of   Public   Buildings 


Till-  City  Practical  i  ^i 


The  disadvantages  would  be: 

The  insertion  of  a  public  group  directly  in  line  with  the  present 
business  extension  of  the  city. 

The  location  of  a  station  remote  from  the  liusiness  section. 
The  great  cost  of  acquiring  necessary  land  for  pu])lic  l)uildings. 
The  cost  of  widening  the  connecting  street. 
The  detached  relations  of  the  important  elements. 

CENTRAL  PARK  SITE 

The  second  location  would  involve  property  extending  from 
Central  Park  to  the  railroad  and  lying  between  Main  and  \\'illiam 
Streets.  In  addition  it  would  bring  into  use  Central  Park  and  the 
vacant  property  directly  east  of  the  railroad  and  south  of  Prairie 
Street. 

The  advantages  of  this  site  would  be  as  follows: 

It  is  one  block  nearer  the  present  business  center  than  the  third 
or  what  may  be  termed  the  Washington  Street  site. 

It  would  utilize  Central  Park. 

For  these  reasons  the  location  would  perhaps  be  more  |)Opular 
at  the  onset  and  this  popularit}'  would  no  doulit  aid  materially  in 
carrying  out  the  project. 

The  proposed  park  east  of  the  railroad  would  tit  into  this  scheme 
admirably,  especially  if  the  house  lots  along  Prairie  Avenue  were 
taken  over. 

The  plan  would  necessarily  do  away  with  the  coal  mine  shaft, 
which  in  many  respects  would  be  desirable  from  the  standpoint  of 
improving  the  attractiveness  of  the  city. 

The  civic  center  would  be  approached  from  the  east  by  an  ex- 
isting subway  on  Prairie  Street. 

By  the  proposed  treatment  of  Central  Park,  a  dignified  axis 
could  be  given  to  the  layout  which  would  balance  the  Union  Sta- 
tion. 

The  chief  disadvantages  of  this  site  are  as  follows: 

The  cost  of  the  area  needed  as  based  on  the  assessor's  records 
would  be  $550,000.00,  or  an  average  of  57  3  10  cents  per  square 
foot.  This  is  largely  influenced  by  the  character  of  the  improve- 
ments on  the  blocks  lying  between  Main  and  William  Streets, 
directlv  east  of  Franklin.     Here  an  established  Imsiness  section 


152  Tlic  Pccafiir  Plan 


would  have  to  be  destroyed  as  well  as  the  Inisiness  establishments 
along  the  streets  to  the  east. 

The  location  of  the  Union  Station  at  this  point  offers  some 
structural  difficulties.  It  probably  would  not  be  considered  feas- 
ible to  span  Prairie  Street  with  the  main  structure  because  of  the 
steep  grade  encountered  in  going  through  the  subway.  Therefore, 
the  architectural  advantage  of  facing  the  main  building  on  the 
axis  of  the  panel  would  be  lost,  although  it  would  be  perfectly 
possible  to  span  the  subway  with  a  clock  tower  or  campanile,  which 
would  give  the  desired  balance  to  the  plan.  AA'hile  this  tower  could 
be  used  for  offices,  its  practicability  as  a  station  adjunct  might  be 
questioned  by  the  railroad  companies. 

The  civic  center  placed  here  would  be  more  or  less  sliut  oft' 
from  view  from  Water  Street  on  account  of  the  business  blocks  to 
the  north  and  south  of  Central  Park.  The  building  group  would 
be  at  a  lower  level  than  Water  Street  and  would  have  the  appear- 
ance of  being  in  a  depression,  viewed  from  this  thoroughfare.  Tall 
business  blocks  of  mixed  architecture  and  unharmonious  facades 
would  encroach  ujjon  the  composition. 


/ 


The  City  Practical  153 


WASHINGTON  STREET  SITE 

The  tliird  or  Washington  Street  site  would  take  in  property 
extending  between  South  Main  Street  and  the  lUinois  Central  rail- 
road and  extending  from  Wood  Street  to  a  distance  of  one-half 
block  south  of  JetTerson  Street.  For  the  most  part,  the  improve- 
ments consist  of  moderately  priced  houses.  There  is,  however,  in 
addition  thereto,  a  modern  garage,  a  new  apartment  house,  the 
Moose  Lodge  building,  the  new  city  fire  station  and  the  car  barns 
now  tinder  construction,  which  would  be  interfered  with  in  carry- 
ing out  the  plan. 

Based  on  present  estimates,  the  entire  i)roperty  \'alue  would 
amount  to  $415,000  or  $135,000  less  than  the  Central  Park  site. 
There  wottld  be  secured  1,206,000  square  feet  of  space  as  against 
960,000  square  feet  at  the  latter  site.  At  Washington  Street  the 
property  has  an  average  value  of  34  4  TO  cents  to  the  square  foot, 
as  compard  with  57  3/10  cents  at  the  Central  Park  site. 

The  W^ashington  Street  site  ])resents  the  following  advantages: 

The  Union  Station  could  be  made  a  ]irominent  and  balanced 
element  in  the  gToup. 

The  topography  is  ideal  for  the  arrangement  of  a  convenient 
station. 

The  present  Court  House  grounds  would  be  part  of  the  scheme. 
The  enlargement  or  replacement  of  the  j^resent  Court  House  would 
therefore  be  facilitated. 

The  new  fire  station  and  car  barns  would  in  no  wise  interfere 
with  the  plan  until  the  time  should  come  for  the  building  of  a  new- 
post  office,  possibly  a  generation  hence,  at  which  time,  both  Iniild- 
ings  may  be  expected  to  have  outlived  their  usefulness. 

The  introduction  of  a  civic  center  at  this  point,  not  only  would 
fail  to  interfere  with  business  develo])ment  but  would  be  ex])ected 
to  stimulate  as  such,  that  section  immediately  to  the  north.  There 
would  without  doubt,  be  a  marked  change  for  the  better  in  the 
character  of  improvements  to  the  south  and  west  of  the  proposed 
site.  The  boulevard  leading  southwest  from  Decatur  and  Main 
Street  would  pass  through  ])ro])ert\-,  the  im|)rovement  of  which 
would  be  far  reaching  in  its  im])ortance. 

The  Union  Station  would  be  placed  in  close  proximity  to  the 
two  leading  hotels.    The  environs  of  the  civic  center  would  l)e  ad- 


154 


I'lic  Pccatiir  J'liin 


niiral^le  for  other  hotels  and  apartment  hnilding-.s,  which  the  city 
will  soon  re(|uire.  The  facades  of  these  l)uildin<;-s  ni;i\-  he  made  to 
harmonize  with  those  of  the  group. 

The  location  works  out  well  from  the  standpoint  of  street  car 
arrangement. 

The  land,  although  sloping  away  to  the  south,  could  be  easily 
graded  so  as  to  cause  opposite  buildings  of  the  group  to  be  appar- 
ently level. 

The  group  located  here  would  compose  well.  Tt  would  lie  in 
harmony  with  the  parkway  plans.  It  would  tend  to  build  up  rather 
than  to  destroy. 


View  East  Along  Jefferson  Street.  Toward   Proposed  Union  Station,   Showing  Character 
of  Improvements  Necessary  to  Remove 


The  Citx  Practical 


Overlooking  Site  of  Proposed   Civic   Center 


THE  CIVIC  CENTER  PLAN 

The  sclTemc  sul)niittcd  provides  site  for  six  and  possibly  seven 
buildings.  Four  of  tliese  presumably  would  be  the  City  Hall, 
County  Building,  Post  Office  and  Coliseum.  In  time  to  come,  it  is 
probable  that  the  remaining  sites  would  be  used  for  an  armory, 
museum,  art  gallery  or  buildings  of  like  nature. 

Already  there  is  an  obvious  need  of  a  city  hall.  This  will  per- 
haps be  one  of  the  first  buildings  to  be  considered. 

While  the  present  post  office  is  adequate  for  the  time  being,  it 
may  be  assumed  that  well  within  the  life  of  this  plan,  tiiere  will  be 
found  reason  to  renew  the  building.  At  such  a  time  its  relocation 
at  a  point  near  the  railroads  in  order  to  expedite  the  handling  of 
mail  will,  in  all  probability,  be  deemed  advisable. 

As  a  citv  emerges  from  the  village  class,  the  need  of  placing 
the  post  office  near  the  railroad  station  so  that  the  least  possible 
delay  will  be  experienced  in  taking  the  mail  from  the  cars  and 
placing  it  on  the  sorting  racks  always  becomes  apparent.  As  a 
city  grows  larger,  the  post  office  building  becomes  less  a  rendez- 
vous and  more  a  plant  for  distrilnition  of  mail.  It  is  also  imjjortant 
that  the  building  be  placed  conveniently  near  to  car  lines  extend- 
ing in  all  directions  through  the  city. 

With  the  post  office  placed  as  suggested,  mail  could  be  taken 
from  the   interurban  and   steam   trains  and   carried,   possibly   by 


156 


The  Decatur  Plan 


'"•"•••••••••••^— I 


means  of  a  tunnel,  to  the  building,  and  thence  distributed  through 
the  city  by  carriers,  with  the  utmost  rapidity. 

Opposite  the  post  office  would  be  an  admirable  site  for  an 
armory.  A  spur  track  can  be  carried  to  the  l)uilding  for  the  load- 
ing and  unloading  of  stores,  troops  and  the  like. 

Tt  also  has  the  advantag'e  of  being  on  the  focal  point  of  the  pro- 
posed system  of  street  car  lines. 

The  slope  of  the  ground  at  this  site  makes  it  possible  to  erect 
the  building  with  minimum  excaA'ation  for  basement,  while  the 
floor  of  the  main  structure  would  be  level  with  those  of  the  other 
buildings  of  the  group.  Si)ace  is  here  provided  for  a  structure 
which  could  easi]\-  accommodate  ten  thousand  |)eople,  if  such  a  size 
should  l)e  desired. 

The  group  would  take  the  form  of  a  rectangular  plaza,  termi- 
nating on  the  west  by  a  colonnade  which  might  appropriately  as- 
sume the  form  of  a  memorial  to  those  who  served  Decatur  in  the 
world  war.  The  buildings  would  l)e  placed  on  the  property  lines 
of  Washington  and  jeft'erson  Streets  so  that  they  could  be  erected 
without  interference  with  these  streets.  Later  the  intervening 
propertv  could  l^e  acquired  and  the  drives  of  the  plaza  rearranged. 
These  drives  would  l)e  carried  in  parallel  lines  through  the  group, 
the  center  parking  being  developed  with  pools.  The  buildings  hav- 
ing a  set  back  of  eight \-  feet  from  the  drives,  woidd  thereby  be 
given  ample  foreground. 


je^' 


_!l 


Site  of  Proposed  Civic   Center 


cfhe  Cdrri^inq  Out  of  the  Plan 


THE  CARRYING  OUT  OF  THE  PLAN 

HOW  to  apply  the  foregoing  plan  of  Decatur  to  the  ground, 
how  even  to  inaugurate  its  application  are  questions  which 
will  at  once  present  themselves  to  the  members  of  the  plan 
commission. 

The  immensity  of  the  project,  the  enormous  cost  involved,  the 
difificulties  attendant  upon  convincing  railroad  and  other  corpora- 
tions of  the  value  of  sweeping  changes,  the  length  of  time  which 
must  elapse  before  many  of  the  projects  will  even  become  oppor- 
tune, the  arduous  task  of  arousing  and  keeping  awake  public  senti- 
ment— all  these  and  many  other  discouraging  aspects  will  no  doubt 
occur  to  the  memliers  of  this  body. 

It  will  be  realized  that  no  law  on  the  statute  books  of  the  state 
makes  possible  an  official  plan  commission  much  less  the  carrying 
out  of  such  a  comprehensive  series  of  benefits  as  are  here  outlined. 
The  plan  commission  of  Decatur,  an  imofficial  body,  having  not 
even  advisatory  powers  g'ranted  by  law  and  being  without  funds 
other  than  those  secured  by  contributions,  is  confronted  with  the 
task  of  moulding  the  city's  destiny. 

The  situation  might  savor  of  the  ludicrous  were  we  not  re- 
minded of  the  fact  that  through  such  volunteer  agencies  have  the 
big  things  of  our  country  been  accomplished.  No  greater  powers 
were  needed  to  establish  a  nation  behind  Plymouth  Rock  nor  to 
declare  Indepentk-nce  from  a  mother  countrv,  to  build  a  thousand 
cities  like  Decatur  and  to  establish  justice,  education,  industry  and 
civilization  in  a  hitherto  untamed  land  than  those  held  at  first  by 
such  volunteer  groups  as  this. 

Decatur's  plan  will  be  carried  out  if  the  people  of  Decatur  will 
it.  It  is  but  necessary  to  win  the  people  to  the  plan  and  to  hold 
their  interest.  To  win  public  approval  is  the  first  great  task  and  for 
this  work  there  must  be  careful  organization  on  the  part  of  the  plan 
board.  The  first  step  toward  carrying- out  this  work  of  introducing 
the  plan  to  the  people  has  been  well  taken.  A  plan  board  has  been 
formed  which  is  essentially  non-partisan  and  which  will  therefore 
appeal  to  the  citizens  generally.  Education  to  the  benefits  of  the 
plan  should  not  be  of  the  nature  of  propaganda — there  is  nothing 


f  "r'-'"Tn'g"7'^'"~-'~'"i'^'*- 


i 


4? 


I ,,,  I'  .tit  1  fc  cr'  ^ '(e'i  i  iSBfe.  -^-* 


t^Ert^.?".. 


IT'" 


■'^- 


■ -<?*>— «g*-'y 


Tlic  Cifv  Practical  i6i 


in  the  city  plan  to  exploit  hut  should  he  a  frank  and  honest  explana- 
tion of  the  plan's  merits. 

It  may  he  safely  assumed  that  if  the  plan  is  generally  approved 
bv  leading-  business  men  and  by  the  public,  by  far  the  greater  num- 
ber of  projects  set  forth  will  in  due  time  be  accom])lished. 

The  plan  only  shows  a  lietter  way  to  do  what  will  be  undertaken 
in  any  event.  No  special  laws  are  needed  to  erect  public  buildings 
or  to  group  these  harmoniously.  Again,  in  the  selection  of  parks, 
as  the  city  takes  on  size  and  more  parks  are  needed,  they  will  as  a 
matter  of  course  be  provided  and  the  city  plan  will  be  followed  gen- 
erally unless  a  better  course  presents  itself.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  plan  will  be  effective  in  checking  movements  for  carrying  out 
costly  changes,  the  fallacy  of  which  may  he  seen  at  a  glance  when 
compared  with  the  balanced  structure  which  the  new  plan  repre- 
sents. 

The  thoroughness  with  which  the  people  are  made  cognizant  of 
the  benefits  of  the  city  plan  will  reflect  at  once  upon  the  attitude 
of  succeeding  city  administrations,  which  in  turn  will  secure  the 
passage  of  such  ordinances  as  may  be  found  essential. 

It  will  be  found  that  a  very  great  part  of  the  plan  may  ])e  car- 
ried out  through  the  exercise  of  these  local  ordinances  and  In* 
means  of  police  powers  under  the  jurisdiction  of  city  authorities. 
These  powers  have  to  do  with  the  safety,  health  and  morals  of  the 
community  and  in  governing  nuisances,  encroachments  upon 
streets  and  other  public  property. 

Powers  of  Eminent  Domain  mav  be  exercised  for  the  establish- 
ment of  parks,  school  sites  and  other  classes  of  public  propertv. 
In  some  states  this  power  of  Eminent  Domain  has  been  increased 
to  include  that  very  important  aid  in  city  improvement,  namely  the 
subsequent  disposal  of  that  portion  of  the  land  taken  by  condemna- 
tion which  is  not  needed  for  the  imjirovement.  A  law  jjermitting 
such  excess  condemnation  of  land,  carefully  framed  to  safeguard 
against  injustice  to  the  individual,  may  be  eventually  passed  in 
Illinois  through  the  efforts  of  civic  bodies  like  this  plan  commission. 

}ilany  benefits  suggested  may  be  realized  through  the  benefi- 
cence of  public  spirited  citizens.  Gifts  of  the  nature  of  park  lands, 
statuarv,  fountains,  i)uhlic  l)uildings.  etc.,  mav  be  looked  for  with 


i62  The  Decatur  Plan 

greater  frequency  when  there  is  known  to  be  a  definite  pLm  toward 
winch  tlie  city  is  working. 

Tn  matters  pertaining  to  the  rearrangement  of  railroad  lines, 
recourse  may  be  taken  to  the  state  railroad  commission  with  the 
assumption  that  fair  decisions  would  be  given  in  instances  where 
human  life  is  in  anv  wise  jeopardized,  such  as  in  projects  relating 
to  grade  crossing  elimination. 

In  dealing  with  railroad  corporations,  which  also  have  the  right 
of  Eminent  Domain  and  whose  rights  of  tenancy  have  been  granted 
bv  state  or  federal  acts,  much  less  may  be  generally  gained  by  at- 
tempting force  than  by  demonstrating  expediency  and  by  the  citv's 
showing  a  willingness  to  go  half  way  to  bring  about  changes  of 
mutual  advantage. 

The  extension  of  car  lines  and  the  rearrangement  of  routes  may 
effectively  be  handled  by  the  power  of  franchise. 

In  the  opening  through  or  widening  of  streets,  several  ])rocesses 
mav  be  resorted  to,  namely  that  of  special  assessment,  condemna- 
tion or  the  establishment  of  building  lines  which  will  become  eft'ec- 
tive  u])<)n  the  erection  of  new  buildings. 

The  most  important  of  all,  the  building  of  future  streets  accord- 
ing to  a  scientific  plan,  will  for  the  time  being  have  to  depend 
largelv  on  personal  appeal  and  on  the  attitude  of  the  city  authori- 
ties in  accepting  new  subdivisions.  A  law  should  be  passed  in  Illi- 
nois similar  to  the  Wisconsin  law  giving  authority  to  the  city  gov- 
ernment to  refttse  acceptance  of  plots  wdiich  are  unsatisfactory.  It 
is,  however,  not  unlikelv  that  the  City  Commission  would  be  within 
its  rights  to  reiect  ])lots  not  in  conformit\-  with  a  scientific  i)lan  and 
"to  refuse  to  extend  sewers,  water  service,  police  and  fire  protection 
to  such  areas.  It  is  unthinkable,  however,  that  a  real  estate  owner, 
depending  upon  the  good  will  of  his  fellow  citizens  for  the  success 
of  his  venture,  would  ])ersist  in  arranging  new  streets  and  lots 
acainst  what  seemed  to  be  for  the  best  interest  of  the  community  at 
large.  The  fact  that  the  plan  shows  an  economical  arrangement  of 
land  and  a  street  lavout  which  is  intended  to  develop  e(|ually  all 
sections  of  the  outlying  districts  should  appeal  to  the  land  owner's 
good  business  sense. 


The  City  Practical  163 


•••"•"••■•-••»•• 


Illinois  has  one  law*  recently  passed  which  is  particularly  im- 
portant, namely,  the  zone  act  passed  by  the  iiftv-first  assembly,  a 
reprint  of  which  is  given  below.  Used  comprehensively  and  in 
connection  with  the  plan  for  the  future  city,  this  law  makes  pos- 
silile  that  which  is  to  be  nidst  desired,  the  predisposition  of  fixed 
areas  for  different  classes  of  building.  Used  as  it  might  be  used  to 
establish  little  zones  here  and  there  throughout  the  citv  without 
relation  to  each  other,  the  law  would  prove  not  only  derogatory  to 
the  city's  interest  Imt  indeed  ridiculous.  The  exercise  of  this  law 
in  Decatur  should  not  be  attempted  until  it  may  be  ai)plied  to  a 
comprehensive  scheme  of  zoning  not  only  for  the  Decatur  of  today 
but  for  a  generation  to  come. 

*See  Appendix. 


Conclusion 

Appendix — Illinois  Zoning  Laip 


CONCLUSION 

IT  HAS  been  a  pleasure  to  study  the  city  of  Decatur  and  to  work 
out  a  program  for  its  future.     The  inadequacy  of  one  or  a  group 

of  city  planners  to  presume  to  show  how  the  mistakes  of  past 
generations  can  best  be  corrected  and  how  those  of  the  future 
generation  can  be  best  thwarted  has  not  been  overlooked. 

Our  justification  is  that  for  the  first  time  these  have  been 
seriously  studied  as  a  single  problem.  Could  this  have  been  done 
forty  years  ago,  our  work  would  have  been  unnecessary  and  De- 
catur would  today  enjoy  the  distinction  which  Washington  and 
other  well  planned  cities  so  enjoy. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

MYRON  HOWARD  WEST. 


APPENDIX 

ILLINOIS  ZONING  LAW 

AN  ACT  TO  CONFER  CERTAIN  ADDITIONAL  POWERS  UPOX  CITY 
COUNCILS  IN  CITIES  AND  PRESIDENTS  AND  BOARDS  OF  TRUSTEES 
IN  VILLAGES  CONCERNING  BUILDINGS,  THE  INTENSITY  OF  USE  OF 
LOT  AREAS,  THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF  BUILDINGS.  TRADES  AND  IN- 
DUSTRIES WITH  RESPECT  TO  LOCATION  AND  REGULATION,  THE 
CREATION  OF  RESIDENTIAL,  INDUSTRIAL,  COMMERCIAL  AND  OTHER 
DISTRICTS,  AND  THE  EXCLUSION  FROM  AND  REGULATION  WITHIN 
SUCH  DISTRICTS  OF  CLASSES  OF  BUILDINGS,  TRADES  AND  INDUSTRIES. 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  represented  in  the 
General  Assembly:  That  in  addition  to  existing  powers,  and  to  the  end  that  adequate 
light,  pure  air  and  safety  from  fire  and  other  dangers  may  be  secured,  that  the  taxable 
value  of  land  and  buildings  throughout  the  city  or  village  may  be  conserved,  that  con- 
gestion in  the  public  streets  may  be  lessened  or  avoided,  and  that  the  public  health, 
safety,  comfort  and  welfare  may  otherwise  be  promoted,  the  city  council  in  each  city, 
and  the  president  and  board  of  trustees  in  each  village,  shall  have  the  following  powers: 

To  regulate  and  limit  the  height  and  bulk  of  buildings  hereafter  to  be  erected,  to 
regulate  and  limit  the  intensity  of  the  use  of  lot  areas  and  to  regulate  and  determine 
the  area  of  yards,  courts  and  other  open  spaces  within  and  surrounding  such  build- 
ings; to  classify,  regulate  and  restrict  the  location  of  trades  and  industries  and  the 
location  of  buildings  designed  for  specified  uses;  to  make  regulations  designating  the 
trades  and  industries  that  shall  be  excluded  or  subjected  to  special  regulations  within 
fixed  districts  and  designating  uses  for  which  buildings  may  not  be  erected  or  altered 
in  such  district;  To  divide  the  city  or  village  or  portions  of  same  into  districts  of  such 
number,  shape  and  area  as  may  be  deemed  best  suited  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  this 
Act,  including  the  power  to  create  and  establish  residential  districts  within  w'hich  new 
buildings  designed  for  business  may  be  excluded,  restricted  or  limited,  and  including 
the  power  to  regulate  and  restrict  the  location  of  trades  and  industries  and  buildings 
designed  for  same  in  such  a  way  that  classes  of  industries  which  aflfect  the  general 
comfort  of  the  public  may  be  excluded  from  districts  where  commercial  and  profes- 
sional pursuits  which  do  not  aflfect  the  comfort  of  the  public  are  carried  on;  and  to 
prevent  the  alteration  or  remodeling  of  existing  buildings  in  such  a  way  as  to  avoid  the 
restrictions  and  limitations  lawfully  imposed  on  any  such  district;  provided,  that  in 
ordinances  passed  under  the  authority  of  this  Act  due  allowance  shall  be  made  for 
existing  conditions,  the  conservation  of  property  values,  the  direction  of  building  devel- 
opment to  the  best  advantage  of  the  entire  city  or  village,  and  the  uses  to  which  prop- 
erty is  devoted  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  any  such  ordinance,  and  that  the  powers 
by  this  Act  given  shall  not  be  exercised  so  as  to  deprive  the  owner  of  any  existing  prop- 
erty of  its  use  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  then  lawfully  devoted:  And  provided  fur- 
ther, that  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  additions  to  and  alterations 
of  any  existing  plant  or  building  made  to  further  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  then  law- 
fully devoted. 

2.  N'o  ordinance  under  the  authority  of  this  .Act  shall  be  enacted  until  a  public 
hearing  has  been  held  upon  the  subject  matter  of  the  proposed  ordinance  before  a 
commission,  board  or  committee  authorized  by  the  city  council  in  cities,  or  the  presi- 
dent and  board  of  trustees  in  villages,  to  investigate  and  make  recommendations  con- 
cerning such  subject  matter;  and  an  opportunity  afTorded  the  owners  of  lands  or  lots 
within   the   proposed   district    to   file   written   objections   as   herein   provided   for.     Such 


I/O  77;r  Decatur  Plan 


public  hearing-  shall  be  held  only  after  publication  in  a  newspaper  of  such  city  or  village 
of  a  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  such  hearing  at  least  thirty  days  in  advance  thereof 
and  the  posting  of  such  notice  at  not  less  than  four  different  places  vv'ithin  such  district, 
which  notice  shall  indicate  the  boundaries  of  the  territory  to  be  affected  both  by  the 
designation  of  the  street  and  house  numbers  included  and  Ijy  the  legal  description  of 
the  property  therein,  and  shall  state  what  regulations  under  the  authority  of  this  Act 
affecting  such  territorj-  are  to  be  considered  at  such  hearing.  In  addition  to  making 
publication  and  posting  notices  as  herein  provided,  the  olificer  or  officers  authorized 
to  hold  said  public  hearing  shall  cause  a  notice  of  similar  import  to  be  mailed  to  the 
person  shown  by  the  records  of  the  county  collector  as  the  one  who  paid  the  taxes 
during  the  last  preceeding  calendar  year  on  each  lot,  block,  tract  or  parcel  of  land  sit- 
uated within  such  territory,  at  the  residence  of  the  person  so  paying  the  taxes  on  each 
lot,  block,  tract  or  parcel  of  land,  if  the  same  can  on  diligent  inquiry  be  found,  and  if 
the  same  cannot  on  diligent  inquiry  be  found,  such  notice  shall  be  directed  to  such 
person  at  the  general  delivery  of  the  post  office  in  the  city  or  village  in  which  said 
district  is  proposed  to  be  made.  The  affidavit  of  the  officer  designated  by  ordinance  as 
the  one  to  give  such  notice  to  the  effect  that  such  publication  was  made  in  such  news- 
paper and  by  such  posting  and  that  such  notices  were  mailed  shall  be  taken  as  con- 
clusive evidence  that  sufficient  notice  was  given  to  all  parties  interested.  When  a  dis- 
trict is  first  created  no  ordinance  shall  be  passed  hereunder  which  shall  enlarge  or 
reduce  or  otherwise  change  the  boundaries  of  the  territory  as  indicated  in  such  notice 
without  another  such  notice  and  public  hearing.  Said  public  hearing  shall  be  con- 
ducted by  the  said  commission,  board  or  committee  and  may  be  temporarily  ad- 
journed and  reconvened  from  time  to  time  until  final  adjournment  at  the  discretion 
of  the  said  commission,  board  or  committee.  .After  such  final  adjournment  said  com- 
mission, board  or  committee  shall  make  its  report  and  recommendation  to  the  city 
council  or  board  of  trustees,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  file  the  same  with  the  city  or  village 
clerk  within  ten  (10)   days  of  the  date  of  such  adjournment. 

3.  At  any  time  after  the  public  hearing  herein  provided  for,  and  not  more  than 
thirty  (30)  days  after  such  commission,  board  or  committee  shall  file  its  report  as 
required  herein,  the  owners  of  a  majority  of  the  land  or  lots  within  the  proposed  dis- 
trict according  to  the  frontage  on  the  streets  dedicated  to  public  use  shall  have  the 
right  to  file  their  objection  in  writing  to  the  formation  of  such  district  or  to  the  regu- 
lations or  restrictions  proposed  therein.  Such  written  objection  may  consist  of  one 
sheet  or  of  a  number  of  sheets  bound  together,  with  the  signatures  of  such  owners,  the 
location  of  the  property  and  tlie  amount  of  frontage  owned  by  each  stated  thereon 
after  each  name,  and  the  same  may  be  filed  with  the  commission,  board  or  committee 
designated  as  the  proper  authority  to  conduct  such  proceedings.  Upon  the  filing  of 
such  objection,  if  it  shall  appear  that  the  owners  of  such  majority  according  to  frontage 
are  opposed  to  the  formation  or  creation  of  such  district  as  is  proposed,  or  to  the  regu- 
lations or  restrictions  proposed  for  any  such  district,  all  proceedings  for  same  shall 
be  discontinued,  and  no  ordinance  for  the  creation  or  formation  of  such  district  in  such 
territory  shall  be  passed,  and  no  new  proceedings  for  the  formation  or  creation  of  such 
district  within  the  said  territory  shall  be  begun  within  one  year  after  the  filing  of  such 
objection:  Provided,  that  if  said  objection  shall  state  that  it  is  directed  only  against 
certain  of  the  proposed  regulations  and  restrictions,  specifying  same,  new  proceedings 
as  herein  provided  for  may  be  begun  at  any  time  for  the  purpose  of  creating  such  dis- 
trict after  changing  or  modifying  the  proposed  regulations  and  restrictions. 

4.  The  regulations  imposed  and  the  districts  created  under  the  authority  of  this 
.Act  may  be  amended,  supplemented  or  changed  from  time  to  time  by  ordinance  after 
the  ordinance  establishing  same  has  gone  into  effect,  but  no  such  change  shall  be  made 
without   notice  and   public  hearing  in  the  same   manner  as   when   such   district   is   first 


Till-  City  Practical  171 


created,  and  in  case  of  written  protest  against  a  proposed  amendment,  supplement  or 
change,  signed  by  the  owners  of  twenty  per  cent  of  the  frontage  proposed  to  be  altered, 
or  by  the  owners  of  twenty  per  cent  of  the  frontage  immediately  adjoining  or  across 
an  alley  therefrom,  or  by  the  owners  of  twenty  per  cent  of  the  frontage  directly  oppo- 
site the  frontage  proposed  to  be  altered,  filed  with  the  said  commission,  board  or  com- 
mittee so  designated,  such  amendment  shall  not  be  passed  except  by  the  favorable  vote 
of  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the  city  council  in  cities,  or  the  members  of  the  board 
of  trustees  in  villages:  Provided,  that  it  shall  always  be  within  the  power  of  the  owners 
of  a  majority  of  the  lands  and  lots  according  to  frontage  within  a  proposed  addition 
to  such  district  to  prevent  such  addition  by  filing  objection  thereto  as  herein  provided. 

5.  Upon  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  under  the  authority  of  this  Act  a  certified 
copy  of  same,  together  with  a  plat  of  the  territory  aiTected  certified  to  by  the  mayor 
of  the  city  or  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  village,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall 
be  filed  for  record  in  the  office  of  the  recorder  of  deeds  of  the  county  in  which  the  said 
territory  is  located,  and  no  such  ordinance  shall  take  effect  until  the  same  is  so  recorded. 

Approved  June  28,  1919. 

LOUIS  L.  EMMERSON, 

Secretary  of  State. 


PEVIEW 


tKCU\'WllIXOU 


D     000  000  452     3 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


